Galapagos Partners with Blood Centers of America to Decentralize CAR-T Production
Phase 1Phase 2ImmunotherapyCell Therapy
Pictured: Healthcare worker carrying an IV bag/iStock, Sergey Mikheev
Belgian biotech Galapagos announced on Wednesday that it is enlisting Blood Centers of America in its strategic goal of decentralizing the manufacturing of CAR-T cell therapeutics in the United States.
The partners did not disclose the specific financial details of the deal but said it would give Galapagos access to Blood Centers of America’s (BCA) more than 50 community blood centers across 43 states, enabling the biotech to manufacture its CAR-T cancer therapies closer to treatment centers.
The agreement will also allow Galapagos to deploy its decentralized CAR-T manufacturing platform in the U.S., with the ability to deliver “fresh, fit cells with a vein-to-vein time of seven days,” according to the announcement.
Galapagos CEO Paul Stoffels in a statement called Wednesday’s agreement a “major milestone” for the biotech’s expansion in the U.S., enabling it to “establish centers for support of our pivotal studies, with the potential to be used for commercial introduction.”
The partnership will also allow Galapagos to “efficiently scale up decentralized CAR-T therapy manufacturing” by leveraging BCA’s extensive nationwide network of blood centers, whose existing infrastructure will help “harmonize operations” across the U.S.
Through the collaboration, Galapagos is looking to solve many of what it calls the “limitations” of currently available CAR-T therapies and give physicians more control over treatment while also improving patient experience.
Galapagos said it will use BCA’s apheresis capacities as needed. The network of blood centers will also help support site initiations and onboarding, according to the announcement, which will speed up Galapagos’ campaign to decentralize its CAR-T therapies and ensure quality.
Galapagos is currently working on three clinical CAR-T programs. The most mature of these is GLPG5101, which is a CD19-directed therapy currently in Phase II for relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is running another CD19 program called GLPG5201, which is in Phase I for relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Richter transformation.
The third program is GLPG5301, a BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy undergoing Phase I assessment for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
The BCA deal follows Galapagos’ previous agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, announced in January 2024, for manufacturing and logistics support for the biotech’s hemato-oncology programs in the San Francisco area. In November 2023, Galapagos entered into a similar but separate agreement with Landmark Bio, which will serve as Galapagos’ strategic point-of-care manufacturing partner in Boston.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. Reach out to him on LinkedIn or email him at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
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