Cellular therapies have shifted the goalpost from treating cancer to curing it. Cellular therapies, in various cancer indications, provide options in the refractory setting where there is high unmet medical need. Though there has been progress on allogenic or "off-the-shelf" cellular therapies, most early phase therapies are autologous processes, with a dedicated manufacturing run for each patient. These personalized immunotherapies start with the collection of the patient's own cells or tumor samples, which is modified or re-engineered depending on the therapeutic modality and indication, then stimulated for growth to expand the cell number, and infused back into the patient. Cell therap...

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Cellular therapies have shifted the goalpost from treating cancer to curing it. Cellular therapies, in various cancer indications, provide options in the refractory setting where there is high unmet medical need. Though there has been progress on allogenic or "off-the-shelf" cellular therapies, most early phase therapies are autologous processes, with a dedicated manufacturing run for each patient. These personalized immunotherapies start with the collection of the patient's own cells or tumor samples, which is modified or re-engineered depending on the therapeutic modality and indication, then stimulated for growth to expand the cell number, and infused back into the patient. Cell therapy is particularly challenging to develop and manufacture since every donor is unique, necessitating a robust process that can support modification and expansion for each patient and cells requiring additional support for growth and expansion ex-vivo. Additionally, viral vectors utilized in the modification/engineering of the cells are critical raw materials that require their own manufacturing process. Our proposal intends to build platforms and bolster expertise at our site in Houston that reduce manufacturing time, variability, and cost to reach patients, who often have no other options, faster and more efficiently. This proposal will also support innovation, scientific career growth, and research knowledge here in Texas.

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