Cellares, a South San Francisco, CA-based integrated development and manufacturing organization (IDMO) dedicated to clinical and industrial-scale cell therapy manufacturing, raised $255M in Series C funding.
The round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies with participation from Bristol Myers Squibb, DFJ Growth, Willett Advisors and existing investors Eclipse, Decheng Capital, and 8VC. In conjunction with the financing, David Mauney, Managing Director at Koch Disruptive Technologies, will join the company’s board of directors.
The company intends to use the funds to launch a commercial-scale IDMO Smart Factory, which integrates advanced robotics, purpose-built technology, and interconnected software.
Led by CEO Fabian Gerlinghaus, Cellares is an integrated development and manufacturing organization (IDMO) both developing and operating integrated technologies for cell therapy manufacturing to accelerate access to life-saving cell therapies. Its Cell Shuttle integrates all the technologies required for the entire manufacturing process in a flexible platform that delivers walk-away, end-to-end automation.
The company currently operates two Smart Factories in the US and is planning a third. Its first Smart Factory, located in South San Francisco, is currently being used for preclinical process development and tech transfer of manual processes onto the Cell Shuttle for existing partners. The South San Francisco Smart Factory will be cGMP-ready in the first half of 2024.
The 118,000 sq. ft. IDMO Smart Factory, located in Bridgewater, New Jersey, will be capable of producing 40,000 cell therapy batches per year. The New Jerseysite will be cGMP-ready in the second half of 2024. While the company can support clinical trials in Europe out of its US Smart Factories, it will also break ground on the first IDMO Smart Factory in Europe in 2024.
FinSMEs
23/08/2023