Catalent, the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies, development, and manufacturing solutions for drugs, biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products, announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire RheinCell Therapeutics GmbH, a developer and manufacturer of GMP-grade human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Upon completion, the acquisition will build upon Catalent’s existing custom cell therapy process development and manufacturing capabilities with proprietary GMP cell lines for iPSC-based therapies. The deal will enable Catalent to offer the building blocks to scale iPSC-based cell therapies while reducing barriers to entry to the clinic for therapeutic companies and is expected to close before the end of 2021.
iPSCs are cells that can be differentiated into various cell types to address a wide range of therapeutic indications. Founded in 2017, RheinCell has undertaken significant research and development of full GMP human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched cell banks with superior genomic integrity, as well as investing in development-scale operational capabilities. RheinCell is based in Langenfeld, near Düsseldorf, Germany. Upon closing, RheinCell’s current employees will join Catalent’s Cell & Gene Therapy business.
“By offering a renewable, and standardized, source of cells for further product development, iPSCs have the potential to be a disruptive technology that could fuel the development of the next generation of cell therapies and substantially enhance the ability to manufacture at scale,” said Julien Meissonnier, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Catalent. He added, “Catalent is committed to building a full-scale value chain for emerging modalities and accelerating their path to market through expertise and innovation. This acquisition further strengthens Catalent’s position in these new therapeutic areas, by pioneering tools and techniques to substantially advance scale-up to meet the demands of clinical and commercial manufacturing.”
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