Verismo Therapeutics Receives G-Rex® Grant from ScaleReady

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ScaleReady™, in collaboration with Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, Bio-Techne Corporation, and CellReady™, has awarded a $150,000 G-Rex Grant to Verismo Therapeutics. Verismo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage CAR T company, is advancing its KIR-CAR platform technology with this significant financial support. The grant aims to enhance Verismo's development and manufacturing processes using the G-Rex platform.

The G-Rex Grant is a part of ScaleReady's broader $20 million grant initiative focused on accelerating Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) progress. This program seeks to provide substantial aid to recipients, facilitating the efficient optimization of cell manufacturing procedures.

Raymond Luke, Director of Manufacturing Science and Technology at Verismo Therapeutics, expressed gratitude for receiving the G-Rex Grant. He highlighted that this funding would be instrumental in refining their cell therapy manufacturing processes, transitioning both active and future projects to the G-Rex system. Luke emphasized that this transition would enable Verismo to deliver life-saving treatments more efficiently and cost-effectively. He also expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with ScaleReady to advance innovative solutions in cell therapy production.

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Wolf Manufacturing and co-inventor of G-Rex, shared his excitement about supporting Verismo Therapeutics through the G-Rex Grant program. Wilson emphasized that Verismo's dedication to advancing cell and gene therapy aligns perfectly with their mission to provide hope to cancer patients through innovative solutions like G-Rex. He looks forward to the advancements Verismo will make with the grant.

Verismo plans to use the grant to optimize their G-Rex-based KIR-CAR T process and establish it as a platform manufacturing process. Additionally, they will evaluate critical reagents from Bio-Techne, including GMP cytokines. Verismo will have early access to Bio-Techne's new closed system reagents, ProPak™ GMP Cytokines, designed for use with G-Rex. These cytokines are expected to be commercially available by the end of 2024.

Verismo Therapeutics is committed to developing new therapies and technologies that improve patient outcomes. The G-Rex Grant will significantly support their research and development efforts, helping them make innovative treatments more accessible.

The KIR-CAR platform is a multi-chain CAR T cell therapy that has shown promise in preclinical animal models. It maintains antitumor T cell activity in challenging tumor microenvironments. By using NK cell-derived KIR and DAP12 split signaling, it provides novel combined activation and co-stimulation, separate from usual T cell stimulation pathways. This approach enables sustained chimeric receptor expression and improves the long-term function of KIR-CAR T cells. As a result, it leads to prolonged T cell functional persistence and regression of solid tumors in preclinical models that are resistant to traditional CAR T therapies.

Verismo Therapeutics is a leader in multi-chain KIR-CAR technology, with its assets SynKIR™-110 and SynKIR™-310 currently in Phase 1 clinical trials. The company is solely focused on developing the KIR-CAR platform, using modified NK cell-derived receptor and DAP12 pairing to improve persistence and efficacy against aggressive tumors. The KIR-CAR platform was developed to address high unmet medical needs, including advanced solid tumors and B cell-associated disorders and malignancies.

ScaleReady provides a G-Rex-centric manufacturing platform for cell and gene-modified cell therapy, offering practical, flexible, scalable, and affordable solutions. The G-Rex manufacturing platform is used by over 800 organizations and is involved in approximately 50% of CGT clinical trials and several commercially approved CGT drugs.

Wilson Wolf Manufacturing is dedicated to simplifying CGT therapy research and production through its scalable G-Rex technology, aiming to create hope for cancer patients. Bio-Techne Corporation is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and reagents for research and clinical diagnostics, partnering with Wilson Wolf to create products tailored to G-Rex bioreactors.