ScaleReady announces a G-Rex® Grant has been awarded to Verismo Therapeutics

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ScaleReady^TM, in collaboration with Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH), and CellReady^TM, today announced that it has awarded a $150,000 G-Rex Grant to Verismo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage CAR T company developing the novel KIR-CAR platform technology.  This grant will support Verismo Therapeutics' ongoing efforts to optimize the development and manufacturing of its KIR-CAR platform using the G-Rex. 

The G-Rex Grant is part of ScaleReady's $20 million grant program aimed at advancing Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) development and manufacturing. The G-Rex Grant Program offers recipients significant support allowing for expeditious optimization of cell manufacturing processes.

"We are grateful to have been chosen for the G-Rex Grant at Verismo Therapeutics," stated Raymond Luke, Director of Manufacturing Science and Technology at Verismo Therapeutics. "This funding will help us further optimize our cell therapy manufacturing processes by transitioning our active and future pipeline to G-Rex®, ensuring we can deliver life-saving treatments to patients more efficiently and cost-effectively. We are excited to work with ScaleReady to drive forward innovative solutions in cell therapy production."

"We are excited to support Verismo Therapeutics through the G-Rex Grant program. Their commitment to advancing cell and gene therapy aligns perfectly with our mission to provide hope to cancer patients one G-Rex at a time. We look forward to seeing the impactful advancements Verismo Therapeutics will achieve with this grant." said John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Wolf Manufacturing and co-inventor of G-Rex.

As part of the G-Rex^® Grant, Verismo will complete optimization of their G-Rex-based KIR-CAR T process and plans to implement this as a platform manufacturing process. Additionally, Verismo will evaluate a suite of critical reagents from Bio-Techne (R&D Systems) including GMP cytokines.  Specifically, Verismo will get early access to a line of new, closed system reagents from Bio-Techne, called ProPak^TM GMP Cytokines, that are tailor-made for use with G-Rex. The ProPak^TM line of GMP cytokines are estimated to be commercially available by the end of 2024.

Verismo Therapeutics is committed to pioneering new therapies and technologies that improve patient outcomes. The G-Rex Grant will play a pivotal role in advancing the company's research and development efforts, ultimately contributing to the broader goal of making innovative treatments accessible to those in need.

About the KIR-CAR Platform
The KIR-CAR platform is a multi-chain CAR T cell therapy and has been shown in preclinical animal models to be capable of maintaining antitumor T cell activity even in challenging tumor microenvironments. Using NK cell derived KIR and DAP12 split signaling provides a novel combined activation and co-stimulation separate from the usual T cell stimulation pathways. It also enables sustained chimeric receptor expression and improves KIR-CAR T cell long term function. This results in prolonged T cell functional persistence and leads to regression of solid tumors in preclinical models that are resistant to traditional CAR T cell therapies.

About Verismo Therapeutics
Verismo Therapeutics is a pioneer in multi-chain KIR-CAR technology, with its first assets SynKIR™-110 and SynKIR™-310 currently in Phase 1 clinical trials. Verismo is the only company developing the KIR-CAR platform, using a modified NK cell derived receptor and DAP12 pairing, designed to improve persistence and efficacy against aggressive tumors. The KIR-CAR platform technology was developed specifically to address areas of high unmet medical need, including advanced solid tumors and B cell associated disorders and malignancies. For more information, visit: www.verismotherapeutics.com

About ScaleReady™
ScaleReady provides the field of cell and gene-modified cell therapy (CGT) with a G-Rex centric manufacturing platform that enables the world's most practical, flexible, scalable, and affordable CGT drug product development and manufacturing.

The G-Rex manufacturing platform is currently used by a rapidly growing list of over 800 organizations and is producing drug products for approximately 50% of CGT clinical trials as well as 4 commercially approved CGT drugs.

CGT entities relying on the breadth and scope of ScaleReady's expertise can expect to save years of time and millions of dollars on the path to CGT commercialization.

For more information about the ScaleReady G-Rex® Grant Program, please contact [email protected].

About Wilson Wolf Manufacturing Corporation
Wilson Wolf (www.wilsonwolf.com) is dedicated to simplifying cell and gene-modified cell (CGT) therapy research, process development, and manufacturing.  This is being accomplished through its scalable G-Rex® technology, which is used throughout the world in CGT applications ranging from basic research to commercial drug production.

Wilson Wolf's mission is to create hope for cancer patients, one G-Rex® device at a time.

About Bio-Techne Corporation
Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne, in partnership with Wilson Wolf, is creating products such as media and cytokines that are specifically tailored to G-Rex® Bioreactors, including right-sized reagent quantities in containers that are tailored to high throughput closed-system manufacturing. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit https://www.bio-techne.com or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.

Contact: David Clair, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development
[email protected]
612-656-4416

SOURCE Bio-Techne Corporation