Orgenesis has entered into a collaboration agreement with Savicell Diagnostics to deploy Savicell’s patented ImmunoBiopsy immunometabolism platform. The aim is to develop and validate diagnostic kits for enhanced quality control (QC) and monitoring purposes to be used by Orgenesis in manufacturing and processing of its cell and gene therapies. New assays will be developed to enhance the potency of cell and gene therapies for use within its point-of-care (POCare) platform and companion diagnostics will be developed for potential enhanced patient targeting of cell and gene therapies.
Orgenesis intends to leverage this technology to measure the efficacy of various cell and gene therapies, as well as adaptations to enhance the potency of targeted therapies through the selection and propagation of the highly potent cells during the manufacturing process. The initial QC kit will be utilised for cell therapy treatments targeting lung cancer, however, the parties plan to expand the platform to include additional cancer types and other diseases.
One of the most important recent discoveries is that immune system cells alter their energy generation in order to obtain an effector function. Specifically, T cells change their pathways to create metabolic energy (ATP molecules) to enable them to potentially kill cancer. T cells, as a pre-step to their activation state, shift pathways to create metabolic energy, moving from the oxidative phosphorylation cycle into a glycolysis cycle. This shift into the glycolysis cycle enables faster production of energy for immediate utilization than in other cycles.
Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis, said: “Savicell’s ImmunoBiopsy platform has shown promise in early detection of cancer. We look forward to leveraging this technology in a number of key areas within our POCare platform. Among these applications, we believe this platform could be a powerful add on to our therapies for ensuring the highest level of quality control during cell production, as well as measuring the efficacy of various approaches and enhancing manufacturing strategies in advance of clinical trials. Unlike traditional pharmaceuticals, which can often be easily manufactured in bulk with high levels of consistency, the cell and gene therapy industry has faced major challenges maximising the potency of autologous cell lines.”
Image credit: Orgenesis
