Moffitt Cancer Center Announces Strategic Collaboration With Galapagos To Transform CAR T Manufacturing in the Southeast
TAMPA, Fla. — Moffitt Cancer Center has announced a strategic collaboration with Galapagos NV to establish cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities for research and development of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies in the Southeast. This collaboration aims to further improve cell therapy for patients by delivering fresh, fit, stemlike early memory T cells with a turnaround time from apheresis to treatment of seven days, compared to several weeks with other products.
“This collaboration is a significant step forward in our mission to provide timely and transformative cancer treatments,” said Xavier Avat, chief business officer at Moffitt. “By leveraging Galapagos’ technology, we have an opportunity to overcome traditional manufacturing limitations and to deliver CAR T therapies more quickly to patients who urgently need them.”
Through this collaboration, Moffitt will include Galapagos’ innovative decentralized CAR T manufacturing platform into its existing infrastructure. The partnership combines Moffitt’s clinical and manufacturing excellence with Galapagos’ cloud-based workflow management and monitoring system; a scalable, functionally closed and automated system; and a proprietary quality control testing and release strategy.
Moffitt’s cell therapy and gene engineering facility is a 20,000 square foot multiproduct facility with 10 ISO7 cGMP certified clean rooms and an ISO7 cGMP certified modular vector production lab. The facility features advanced infrastructure for producing cell and gene therapies from preclinical stages to phase 2 clinical trials. Moffitt’s facility has collaborated with industry partners for more than 15 years to advance therapies and research for cancer and beyond.
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Moffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. The Tampa-based facility is one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s scientific excellence, multidisciplinary research, and robust training and education. Moffitt’s expert nursing staff is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet® status, its highest distinction. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the momentum on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
###
