Torque Introduces High-efficiency T cell Manufacturing Process
Torque, an immuno-oncology company developing first-in-class Deep Primed T Cell Therapeutics to direct immune power deep within the tumor microenvironment, announced today a high-efficiency T cell manufacturing process engineered by Torque, called “Slipstream.” The proprietary Slipstream process is now in place at UC Davis for manufacturing Deep-Primed T-Cells for Torque’s first clinical trial that will initiate later this year in both solid and hematologic cancers.
“Torque’s cell manufacturing strategy is a critical aspect of our mission to dramatically expand cell therapy cures for cancer,” said Bart Henderson, CEO of Torque. “The Slipstream manufacturing process is based on a robust, closed system that surpasses conventional cell therapy manufacturing techniques used for currently marketed T cell therapy products—Slipstream is readily scalable, requires a substantially smaller manufacturing footprint, and is less capital- and labor-intensive. We are pleased to announce this innovative system and our collaboration to build out Slipstream with the UC Davis team led by Gerhard Bauer—one of the country’s premier experts on the management and development of GMP cell manufacturing facilities— to bring a new class of immune cell therapy to patients with cancer.”
“We started with the decision to design for commercial scale, to bypass challenges in the transition from clinical trials to commercialization,” said Fabio Fachin, Vice President of Cell Therapy Engineering and Manufacturing for Torque. “Using proprietary processes, automation, and advanced logistics, we innovated the Slipstream process for high-efficiency use of space and labor, with a fully closed production stream from end to end. Our goal is to deliver the highest-quality end product for patients.”
Slipstream is designed to operate as modular “compact factories” that can be used in both large-scale and decentralized manufacturing settings, with the potential to move cell manufacturing closer to the point of care. Production capacity can be expanded by adding additional arrays in Lego-like fashion.
“Slipstream is a productivity revolution in the immune cell therapy space,” said Dr. Bauer. “This is a streamlined, fully closed, T cell manufacturing system—a groundbreaking innovation in that there are no open transfers between steps, which eliminates contamination risk and dramatically reduces the facility footprint required for commercial-quality manufacturing. Slipstream’s modular design means it can be expanded to create a network of cell manufacturing mini-factories at whatever scale is needed, whether in a regional facility at point-of-care, or at a centralized production facility. Improving efficiency and reducing the cost of manufacturing these personalized therapies in this way is how the industry will move forward and develop treatments that are broadly accessible and affordable.”