Quell Therapeutics Expands Manufacturing Capabilities for CAR-Treg Cell Therapy Pipeline Through Partnership With eXmoor pharma

Quell Therapeutics Ltd and eXmoor pharma recently announced a strategic partnership for the manufacture of multiple autologous engineered CAR-Treg cell therapies in Quell’s pipeline targeting autoimmune diseases.

Quell leverages its pioneering Foxp3 Phenotype Lock technology and unique multi-modular platform to design and develop highly engineered Treg cell therapies that are effectively targeted, exhibit potent immune regulatory function and are persistent and stable in the target tissue. Quell has developed considerable expertise in process development and manufacture of CAR-Treg product candidates, which is being used to deliver scaled and consistently high-quality product for use in its ongoing LIBERATE Phase 1/2 trial with QEL-001 in liver transplant patients.

Under the terms of this multi-year agreement, Quell and eXmoor will partner on the process transfer, scale-out and Phase 1/2 clinical manufacture of multiple autologous CAR-Treg cell therapy candidates in Quell’s pipeline. eXmoor will dedicate manufacturing capacity within its new state-of-the-art Cell & Gene Therapy Centre in Bristol, UK. In August 2024, eXmoor announced it had received its GMP license from the MHRA, completing its journey to becoming a full-service contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with integrated process development and analytical labs, four GMP clean rooms and fill/finish capability to support scale-up, optimization and manufacture of cell therapies, RNA therapies and viral vectors.

Aaron Vernon, Chief Manufacturing Officer at Quell Therapeutics, said “Building on our manufacturing experience producing QEL-001 for the LIBERATE clinical trial, this partnership will provide increased capacity to manufacture our emerging pipeline of CAR-Treg product candidates and move them into clinical development. Quell and eXmoor have worked productively and successfully together for several years, and we are excited to extend our relationship with them to support our clinical manufacturing needs.”

“Quell’s CAR-Treg expertise and our long-standing collaboration make them an excellent first manufacturing client in our new, state-of-the-art facilities and we are committed to creating a true partnership,” addedAngela Osborne, CEO of eXmoor pharma. “eXmoor’s first cell therapy experience in 2007 was with Tregs so there is symmetry in this being the focus of our first manufactured products. Quell has made tremendous progress with its therapeutic programs and we are proud to be supporting them in accelerating the progression of their next-generation cell therapies into patient trials.”

Quell Therapeutics is the world leader in developing engineered T-regulatory (Treg) cell therapies that aims to harness, direct and optimize their immune suppressive properties to address serious medical conditions driven by the immune system. The company is leveraging its pioneering Foxp3 Phenotype Lock technology, unique multi-modular platform and integrated manufacturing capabilities to design and develop a pipeline of highly engineered Treg cell therapies with greater potential for persistence, potency and stability than earlier generations of Treg cell therapy approaches. Quell’s lead candidate QEL-001 is advancing in the LIBERATE clinical trial designed to investigate its ability to induce operational tolerance following liver transplantation, with the potential to protect the post-transplant liver without the need for chronic immunosuppressive medications. Quell is also advancing additional programs in neuroinflammatory and autoimmune diseases internally and in partnership with AstraZeneca. www.quell-tx.com.

eXmoor pharma is a one-stop cell-and-gene-therapy partner accelerating the manufacturing journey from research to patients. Founded in 2004, eXmoor has specialized in the CGT sector since 2007, helping organizations to understand, plan and implement the appropriate CMC strategy. eXmoor does this via its combination of GMP manufacturing capability and its translation and capital consulting groups, including process and analytical development labs. eXmoor has completed over 500 projects for 150 organizations and is headquartered in Bristol, UK, with 80 current employees, growing to 200 by 2027. exmoorpharma.com.