Cellares and Sony Announce a Joint Development Collaboration to Integrate Flow Cytometry-Based Sorting and Online Analysis into an Automated, High-Throughput Cell Therapy Manufacturing Platform

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Sep 12, 2024, 09:00 ET

Cellares and Sony will collaborate on integrating Sony's cell sorting and analytical technologies into the Cell Shuttle, Cellares' automated cell therapy manufacturing platform
Integration of this technology will enable the Cell Shuttle to efficiently automate the manufacture of sorting-dependent modalities such as regulatory T cell therapies (Tregs) and hematopoietic stem cell therapies (HSCs)
Additionally, this integration will allow for real-time monitoring of cell quality and quantity, which is expected to enhance the efficiency and scalability of cell therapy manufacturing on the Cell Shuttle

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and TOKYO, Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellares, the world's first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) and a leader in automated cell therapy manufacturing, and Sony Corporation ("Sony"), a technology pioneer driving innovation in the field of flow cytometry, today announced a collaboration to jointly develop and integrate advanced flow cytometry-based cell analysis and sorting solutions into the Cellares Cell Shuttle™, an automated cell therapy manufacturing platform. Sony will leverage technologies from its CGX10 Cell Isolation System to develop new solutions. The combination of the two industry-leading technologies is expected to make Cellares' Cell Shuttle the world's first truly automated, end-to-end cell therapy manufacturing solution with cell analysis and sorting capabilities.

Cellares' Cell Shuttle is an automated, scalable, and integrated manufacturing platform that represents a leap forward in cell therapy manufacturing. Designed to meet the rigorous demands of clinical and commercial-scale manufacturing, the Cell Shuttle automates and integrates all cell therapy manufacturing unit operations within a closed, ISO 8 environment. This integration and automation provide unprecedented scale, with the ability to manufacture 16 cell therapy batches in parallel, while reducing batch price by up to 50%, compared with conventional CDMO batch-pricing, and reducing opportunities for contamination and operator error.

Sony's CGX10 cell isolation system has the capability to sort cells at high speed, purity, and viability in a closed system, which makes it an ideal solution for cell therapy applications. Integrating its sorting capabilities with the Cellares Cell Shuttle is expected to enhance the efficiency and scalability of sorting-dependent cell therapies, such as regulatory T cell (Treg) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) based workflows in the clinical or commercial setting.

Cellares and Sony will also jointly develop enhanced cell analysis capabilities for the Cell Shuttle, based on technology developed by Sony for its CGX10 system. The integration of Sony's cell analysis capabilities on the Cell Shuttle is expected to further streamline the end-to-end automation of the cell therapy manufacturing processes, allowing for online real-time monitoring of cell quality and quantity. This is expected to improve the overall efficiency and scalability of cell therapy manufacturing processes, with a potential to further reduce costs and vein-to-vein times. This strengthens Cellares' Cell Shuttle technology platform, and its position as it plans to be the de-facto, new standard for clinical and commercial scale cell therapy manufacturing for the majority of cell modalities.

"Sony's CGX10 is used by companies developing various types of cell therapies, for which sorting is a critical step of the manufacturing process. Incorporating high-performance cell analysis and sorting capabilities in an end-to-end automated process paves the way for scaling up the manufacturing of those therapies," said Katsunori Ogawa, Head of Life Science & Technology Business Unit at Sony Corporation. "The Cell Shuttle manufacturing platform is an ideal integration use case for our flow analysis and sorting technology, helping both Sony and Cellares offer unprecedented scale to anyone developing the next wave of innovative cell therapies. At Sony, we strongly believe that such collaborations are key to providing the best technology to the industry and ultimately have a meaningful impact in healthcare."

"The Cell Shuttle allows our clients to meet the total global patient demand for their cell therapies, and by incorporating high throughput cell analysis and sorting into the Cell Shuttle, we are extending Cellares' automated manufacturing capabilities to meet the needs of even more cell therapy developers," said Fabian Gerlinghaus, CEO and co-founder of Cellares. "Sony's technology will integrate seamlessly and provide throughput and full automation for manufacturing workflows requiring cell analysis and sorting. We are pleased to work together with Sony to meet this industry need."

To learn more about the Cell Shuttle™, please visit cellares.com. For more information on the CGX10 Cell Isolation System, please visit sonybiotechnology.com.

About Cellares

Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) and takes an Industry 4.0 approach to mass manufacturing the living drugs of the 21st century. The company is developing and operating integrated technologies for cell therapy manufacturing to accelerate access to life-saving cell therapies. The company's Cell Shuttle™ integrates all the technologies required for the entire manufacturing process in a flexible and high-throughput platform that delivers true walk-away, end-to-end automation. While the Cell Shuttle automates cell therapy manufacturing, the Cell Q™ automates quality control at high throughput, both for in-process and batch release QC addressing both manufacturing and QC bottlenecks. Cell Shuttles and Cell Qs will be deployed in Cellares' IDMO Smart Factories around the world enabling each Smart Factory to produce 10 times as many cell therapy batches as a conventional CDMO with the same facility size and headcount. Partnering with Cellares enables academic medical centers, biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate cell therapy development and scale out manufacturing, lower process failure rates, lower manufacturing costs, and meet global patient demand.

The company is headquartered in South San Francisco, California with its first commercial-scale IDMO Smart Factory in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Cellares is building a global network of IDMO Smart Factories with additional facilities under construction in Europe and Japan. The company is backed by world-class investors and has raised over $355 million in financing.

For more information about Cellares, please visit cellares.com.

About Sony
Sony Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and is responsible for the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) business. With the mission to "create the future of entertainment through the power of technology together with creators," we aim to continue to deliver Kando* to people around the world.
For more information, visit: http://www.sony.net/

*Kando is a Japanese word that roughly translates to the sense of awe and emotion you feel when experiencing something beautiful and amazing for the first time.

Forward-Looking Statements (Cellares)
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Words such as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "intend," "will," "may," "goal," "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements necessarily contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of the management of Cellares Corporation (the "Company") as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including business, regulatory, economic and competitive risks and uncertainties about the Company. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the events or circumstances referred to in the forward-looking statements may not occur. The actual results may vary from the anticipated results and the variations may be material. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date this press release is given. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Sony Corporation