Cellectis, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on gene edited CAR-T cells (UCART), has entered into a supply and license agreement with Takara Bio Inc. for recombinant human fibronectin fragment RetroNectin.

Access to Takara Bio Inc.’s RetroNectin will secure Cellectis’ manufacturing processes and expand the company’s UCART production capabilities. Under the terms of the agreement, RetroNectin, which is used for cell engineering, may be applied in the production of both R&D- and GMP-grade Cellectis’ UCART product candidates.

Financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

“This agreement with Takara Bio will not only secure the manufacturing of Cellectis’ robust product pipeline but also strengthen our key assets and capabilities in the cell engineering space,” said Dr David Sourdive, EVP corporate development at Cellectis. “The partnership ultimately furthers our effort to provide universal CAR-Ts for immunotherapy patients all over the world.”

“We are very grateful to provide RetroNectin for Cellectis’ UCAR T-cell manufacturing process, which is one of the world’s most advanced program in immunotherapy,” added Dr. Yoh Hamaoka, senior executive officer of business development at Takara Bio Inc.

“We are pleased that RetroNectin contributes to the development of the emerging gene and cell therapy.”