At a Glance
- Companies: Cellares, ProTgen
- Focus area: Automated cell therapy manufacturing
- Lead programme: ProT-096
- Goal: Restore immune competence
- Next steps: Clinical manufacturing and first-in-human work
What happened?
Cellares and ProTgen announced a partnership to automate the manufacturing of ProT-096, a progenitor T-cell therapy designed to restore immune competence in patients who have exhausted standard treatment options. The collaboration uses Cellares’ Cell Shuttle platform to support scalable, GMP-ready cell therapy production.
Why does it matter?
ProT-096 is aimed at a major unmet need: patients whose immune systems have been profoundly damaged by prior cancer therapy and need durable immune reconstitution. If the platform works, it could move beyond bespoke autologous manufacturing and make cell-based immune restoration more scalable and potentially more accessible.
Who’s behind it?
Cellares is an integrated development and manufacturing organisation focused on automated cell therapy production, while ProTgen is developing a targeted Notch activator platform to generate progenitor T cells. ProTgen says its lead programme is intended for refractory haematologic malignancies and broader immune restoration applications.
How was it achieved?
The partnership leverages Cellares’ fully automated Cell Shuttle platform, which is designed to standardise and scale cell therapy manufacturing. ProTgen’s platform generates progenitor T cells through targeted Notch activation, giving the therapy a defined manufacturing and biological framework that can be adapted to cell-factory workflows.
What’s next?
ProTgen says first-in-human trials are expected in 2027, with the Cellares partnership supporting clinical-grade supply. The companies will now focus on translating the programme into a robust manufacturing process that can support both early clinical work and eventual scale-up.