TrakCel has announced a partnership with Mustang Bio to build a custom configured cellular supply chain tracking and orchestration platform. The platform will be used in the clinical development and commercialisation of Mustang’s CAR T therapies. Financial details of the partnership have not been disclosed.

TrakCel is a market leading designer, developer and deliverer of integrated technologies, specifically created in 2012 to manage the international autologous and allogeneic cell, gene and immunotherapy supply chain. The company is headquartered in Cardiff, with US offices in California and New Jersey. It aims to employ over a hundred people by end of 2019, following a number of senior appointments in 2016 and 2017.

Mustang Bio, a Fortress Biotech Company, is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel cancer immunotherapy products designed to leverage the patient’s own immune system to eliminate cancer cells. Mustang aims to acquire rights to these technologies by licensing or otherwise acquiring an ownership interest, to fund research and development, and to out license or bring the technologies to market.

The software platform will enable Mustang’s clinical and logistics teams to have complete visibility across all protocols down to the individual patient level, with a comprehensive electronic record trail and the ability to capture data across all activities, from patient T cell collection to drug infusion. The platform will be integrated into Mustang’s proprietary CAR T cell therapy manufacturing facility in Worcester, Massachusetts and is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2019. TrakCel will also integrate the platform into the operations of Mustang’s multiple supply chain partners, including collection centres, couriers and other third parties.

Knut Niss, Chief Technology Officer of Mustang, said “An overview across the entire supply chain is critical to the successful development and delivery of CAR T product candidates. Mustang selected TrakCel for its ability to configure and build a custom cellular orchestration platform that will specifically meet Mustang’s needs, scale with development, and integrate with our existing systems. This will enable Mustang to decrease the complexities and risks involved in developing autologous CAR T technologies, which have previously used manual and paper-based methods. This may decrease the costs of goods by improving efficiencies throughout the supply chain and ensuring the quality of our CAR T product candidates from needle-to-needle, initiating at collection and ending at infusion. Moreover, the platform will enable us to improve product safety and regulatory compliance, confirming that the correct CAR T therapy is delivered to the right patient every time.”

Ravi Nalliah, CEO of TrakCel, said “TrakCel is custom configuring orchestration platforms for companies leading development across the international cell therapy sector. We have built unrivalled experience and acquired the know-how to provide the critical support needed by cell and gene therapy developers. Managing supply chains becomes so complex for some companies that it uses valuable resources that hinder development of much-needed therapies. TrakCel will aid Mustang to use its investment in its in-house manufacturing facilities to develop CAR T immunotherapies for patients with high unmet medical needs.”