Galapagos to acquire CellPoint and AboundBio to accelerate access to next-generation CAR-T therapies.

Through the acquisition of CellPoint and AboundBio, respectively, Galapagos gains access to an innovative, scalable, decentralized and automated point-of-care cell therapy supply model as well as a next-generation fully human antibody-based therapeutics platform. Combined and supported by Galapagos as a fully integrated biopharma, they have the potential to disrupt the CAR-T treatment paradigm. The goal is to expand the current market for CAR-T therapies and have an important impact on patients in need of additional and improved treatment options.

CellPoint has developed, in a strategic collaboration with Lonza, a novel point-of-care supply model, which offers the potential for efficient, 7-day delivery of CAR-T therapies and avoids complex logistics, thereby addressing important limitations of current CAR-T treatments. The proprietary platform consists of CellPoint’s end-to-end xCellit workflow management and monitoring software and Lonza’s Cocoon® system, a closed, automated manufacturing platform for cell and gene therapies.

Clinical studies with the CellPoint decentralized supply model have been approved by regulatory authorities in Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. Two Phase 1/IIa studies in rrNHL and rrCLL with a CD19 CAR-T product candidate are currently ongoing with topline results expected in the first half of 2023, providing the opportunity for a rapid clinical validation of the CAR-T point-of-care supply model. In a next step, the aim is to leverage CellPoint’s platform for novel CAR-Ts originating from AboundBio’s unique fully human antibody-based library and biological drug discovery and engineering capabilities, with the goal of bringing three additional differentiated, next-generation CAR-T candidates in the clinic over the next three years.