World's First: Cancer Patient Undergoes Personalized Treatment by 'Cocoon' Platform
Biotech firm Lonza announced on Tuesday, and the first patient has been treated through the use of cell therapy made in its "Cocoon" platform.
With this particular platform, the Swiss contract drug manufacturer hopes to catch on at medical centers that aim to enhance the use of personalized cancer treatments.
This automated system is installed at the Tel HaShomer, Israel-based Sheba Medical Center. It is currently being utilized in a clinical test of what's called in the medical field as chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, also known as CAR-T, in contradiction of B-cell malignancies.
The company said, the first patient who received treatment with Sheba's CAR-T treatment from Cocoon has diffuse large B cell lymphoma, or DLBCL.
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CAR-T Therapies can be Curative
Like the other approved therapeutic products, such as the Yescarta of Gilead and the Kymriah of Novartis, which costs anywhere from $373,000 to $475,000, CAR-T therapies can be curative, even for those whose previous cancer treatments were a failure.
However, their development is quite challenging with the T-cells of patients removed at hospitals, frequently sent long distances to central re-engineering facilities before making the "return journey" a few weeks later for infusion into patients.
But with Lonza's Cocoon platform, the process occurs in what the Swiss company described as a functionally closed system at the hospital location.
In a statement, the drug manufacturing company said its Cocoon Platform would allow Sheba to decrease immunotherapy manufacturing costs by reducing requirements for a workforce, time, and space.
Lonza also said they are hopeful that this personalized cancer treatment will eventually enable Sheba "to deliver possibly curative cellular immunotherapies" to more cancer patients.
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Over 100 Patients Receiving CAR-T Treatment at Sheba Medical Center
According to Sheba, over 100 patients have been receiving CAR-T treatment for two years now. More so, the medical center also said it is planning to employ the Cocoon platform for more patients.
Lonza has joined forces with companies, such as General Electric, which has also developed automated systems to fast-track the manufacturing of CAR-T, reduce costs, and improve failure rates that may be linked to hands-on approaches.
What is the Cocoon Platform?
Lonza's Cocoon Platform is a computerized, flexible, and functionally closed system for patient-scale cell therapy manufacturing.
Such a solution offers an accessible, cost-effective solution to deal with cell therapy manufacturing blockages.
Typically, users are compromising flexibility when transferring to a closed, digitized system. More so, this innovative platform fills in the gap through the "one-time-use, highly customizable cassette" of the Cocoon platform.
Specifically, Lonza's Cocoon platform offers an "end-to-end" development of cell therapy products with fundamental unit operations, which include "isolation, activation, transduction or transfection, expansion, and harvest."
For years now, Lonza has combined technological invention with world-class excellence in the manufacturing field.
With the two qualities the company is known for, they allow their customers to deliver their latest innovations.
For years already, the Swiss firm has also been working to prevent diseases and "promote a healthier world" by allowing its customers to deliver groundbreaking medicines that contribute to the treatment or cure of an array of illnesses.
Lonza has also provided a great range of microbial control solutions, which contribute to a healthy environment's development and sustenance.
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Sep 09, 2020 07:40 AM EDT
