Cesca Therapeutics Expands CAR-TXpress Intellectual Property Portfolio

Cesca Therapeutics Inc. recently announced its device subsidiary, ThermoGenesis Corp., has filed a patent with the US PTO for a method of further simplifying the processes of T-cell activation and transduction within the company’s proprietary CAR-TXpress workflow.

“As we pursue our goal of providing an automated means of manufacturing new immunotherapies such as CAR-T, it is critical that our innovations are recognized by the USPTO and other global intellectual property regulatory agencies,” said Dr. Chris Xu, Chief Executive Officer of Cesca. “We believe this new patent application, if and when granted, will significantly improve the commercial appeal of our CAR-TXpress technology by further extending the number of manufacturing steps that may be performed in a “one-pot” process (employing, for example, the cartridge covered by US Patent No. 9,695,394), from initial pre-processing of blood or leukapheresis product through to T-cell activation and transduction. The practice of this latest invention allows purification and activation of T-cells to be completed simultaneously, thus further simplifying the CAR-TXpress workflow and offering the potential for improved efficiency and reduced manufacturing cost, which are the two most significant challenges facing CAR-T developers today.”

ThermoGenesis’ proprietary buoyancy activated cell sorting (BACS) technology, which is key to the CAR-TXpress platform, is supported by two recently issued US Patents: No. 9,695,394 and No. 9,821,111. BACS technology allows the company to address the needs of a broad range of potential partners by increasing efficiency while lowering the cost to manufacture CAR-T immunotherapy drugs.

BACS technology employs microscopic bubbles to isolate a specific cell type from a complex mixture of cells, such as blood. These microbubbles bear antibodies on their surface, enabling them to bind specifically to a single desired target cell type. When coated with microbubbles, the target cells float to the top of the host liquid, while non-target cells sink to the bottom – a process that can be accelerated by centrifugation. Subsequent collection of the floating target cell layer and release of the cells from their microbubbles provides a highly purified preparation of just the cells of interest, with high recovery efficiency while retaining cell viability.

Cesca Therapeutics develops, commercializes, and markets a range of automated technologies for CAR-T and other cell-based therapies. Its device division, ThermoGenesis, provides a full suite of solutions for automated clinical biobanking, point-of-care applications, and automation for immuno-oncology. The company is developing an automated, functionally-closed CAR-TXpress platform that addresses the critical unmet need for better cellular manufacturing and controls (CMC) for the emerging CAR-T immunotherapy market. Cesca is an affiliated company of China-based Boyalife Group.