UMass Medicine Science Park site is chosen for gene-therapy manufacturing facility.

With preparation underway for clinical production by 2018, oncology biologics innovator Mustang Bio disclosed it has entered into a lease agreement with the UMass Medicine Science Park in Worcester. The company will erect a processing facility focused on the manufacture of its chimeric antigen receptor engineered T cell (CAR T) technology.

According to Mustang Bio, the new facility is expected to be operational and ready to produce the CAR T cell therapies in 2018. Although that provides a 12-month window, the company will building its cell processing capabilities to support MB-101 for glioblastoma and MB-102 for acute myeloid leukemia and blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm.

A subsidiary of Fortress Biotech, Inc. Mustang Bio is a clinical stage company that has been focused on the commercialization of novel immunotherapies that leverage the human immune system to kill cancer cells. Mustang Bio said that it has partnered with the City of Hope National Medical Center (COH) and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to develop effective CAR-T methodologies to fight a broad range of cancers. Currently, both of Mustang Bio’s lead candidates MB-101 and MB-102 are in clinical trials at the COH Medical Center.

Manuel Litchman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mustang, explained the effectiveness of siting the new facility with UMass: “Establishing top-notch manufacturing capabilities early on is essential to the long-term success of CAR T programs. Securing a facility in the UMass Medicine Science Park, one of the nation’s leading centers for biotechnology research and production, is significant, as it will enable us to recruit industry leaders in manufacturing. We are thrilled to announce this important milestone, which lays the foundation for the clinical development and potential commercialization of our CAR T pipeline, and may expedite manufacturing innovations to improve patient outcomes.”