17 November 2022 - - US-based cell and gene therapies specialist ElevateBio, LLC and biotechnology company Affini-T Therapeutics have forged a partnership to advance Affini-T's engineered TCR-T therapies focused on KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog), one of the most prevalent oncogenic driver mutations in solid tumor cancers, the companies said.

Affini-T will leverage ElevateBio BaseCamp's LentiPeakTM lentiviral vector technology platform and cell therapy production capabilities to advance its investigational oncogenic driver programs into clinical development.

ElevateBio BaseCamp is a purpose-built viral vector and cell therapy center of excellence with end-to-end process development and current Good Manufacturing Practice manufacturing capabilities for research, clinical and commercial cell and gene therapies, and regenerative medicines.

Affini-T's proprietary platform is designed to select and engineer the right immune cells to orchestrate a durable and coordinated immune response within the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

The company is pioneering engineered T cell therapies with cutting-edge synthetic biology and gene editing enhancements to target oncogenic driver mutations at the core of tumor biology.

Its engineered cell therapies are designed to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, enhancing T cell function to increase durability, build persistent responses, and augment tumor infiltration.

Affini-T's investigational cell therapies have the potential to offer new treatment options for patients affected by cancer with mutant variants of KRAS, which account for up to 30% of all cancers and are particularly frequent in cancers with high mortality rates, including lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

ElevateBio is a technology-driven company built to power the development of transformative cell and gene therapies today and for many decades to come.

The company has assembled talent, built facilities, and integrated diverse technology platforms, including gene editing, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and protein, vector, and cellular engineering, necessary to drive innovation and commercialization of cellular and genetic medicines.

In addition, ElevateBio BaseCamp in Waltham, Massachusetts, is a purpose-built facility offering process innovation, process sciences, and current Good Manufacturing Practice manufacturing capabilities.

It was designed to support diverse cell and gene therapy products, including autologous, allogeneic, and regenerative medicine cell products and viral vector manufacturing capabilities.

Through BaseCamp and its enabling technologies, ElevateBio is focused on growing its collaborations with industry partners while also developing its own portfolio of cellular and genetic medicines.

ElevateBio's team of scientists, drug developers, and company builders are redefining what it means to be a technology company in the world of drug development, blurring the line between technology and healthcare.