NEW YORK and BOSTON, October 4, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) and Talaris Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TALS) (“Talaris”) announced today NYBCe’s acquisition of commercial-scale cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing facilities, as well as certain technologies and equipment from Talaris in Houston, Texas and Louisville, Kentucky. The acquisition of both locations, combined with NYBCe’s Comprehensive Cell Solutions (CCS) vast cell sourcing and collection network, accelerates the delivery of a fully integrated vein-to-vein cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing solution for the continental United States (US), capable of serving the biopharma industry and large hospital systems.
“I am exceptionally pleased with this strategic expansion of our CCS portfolio”, said Christopher D. Hillyer, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer at NYBCe, “which now allows NYBCe to have in-house start-to-finish cell and gene therapy, and regenerative medicine, development and manufacturing capabilities. Our new facilities and expert teams are located within key geographies, with best-in-class GMP manufacturing, and a close-to-patient transportation network as well as leading academic medical centers, which will allow us to fast-track lifesaving therapies to hospital systems.”
Both state-of-the-art facilities offer space for autologous and allogeneic cell sourcing and collection, expanding NYBCe’s large collection footprint and broad donor base. The Louisville, Kentucky facility adds approximately 20,000 sq. ft. with quality control and Phase 3-fitted GMP manufacturing capacity. The space provides ISO 7 cleanrooms, vast GMP capacity, cryopreservation, and storage and warehouse space, a robust digital chain of identity systems, supported by rigorous testing and release procedures. The Houston, Texas facility offers another 6,000 sq. ft. of analytical and process development capacity enhancing NYBCe’s expertise in broad analytical methodologies across cell types, viral vectors, mRNA, and gene expression analysis.
“We are delighted to have this portfolio of CMC assets become a part of CCS,” said Mary Kay Fenton, President and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Talaris Therapeutics, Inc.
“CCS’ acquisition will improve the process of drug development and delivery for patients with life-threatening cancers, as well as severe blood and genetic disorders. We look forward to bringing on additional talent from the cell and gene therapy hubs of Houston and Louisville and providing the highest quality cell and gene therapies for biopharma companies and hospitals throughout the US”, said Jay Mohr, Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer, NYBCe.
About New York Blood Center Enterprises
Founded in 1964, New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) provides blood and stem cell products and related medical and consultative services. Since inception, NYBCe has been committed to areas of health and humanitarian causes with a global lifesaving impact. NYBCe is at the forefront of leading innovative research in hematology, blood banking, transfusion medicine, infectious diseases, and cellular therapies. NYBCe has also advanced numerous groundbreaking innovations in clinical care and biotechnology with patented disruptive technologies that have been adopted globally.
About Comprehensive Cell Solutions
Founded in 2003 as a business unit of New York Blood Center Enterprises, CCS offers its deep expertise in the development and manufacture of cell and gene therapies, using its GMP and GTP facilities. CCS provides a true vein-to-vein solution, spanning fresh cellular collections and cord blood-derived stem cells as source material, to cell isolation, manipulation, and cryopreservation capabilities for preclinical to commercial stage products. CCS boasts a client roster comprised of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, innovative biotechnology organizations, and academic medical centers. CCS’ manufacturing headquarters are in New York City, where it also performs cellular collections and clinical apheresis. Cell collection suites and apheresis services are also based in Providence, RI, Kansas City, MO, and St. Paul, MN.
About Talaris Therapeutics, Inc.
Talaris Therapeutics, Inc., prior to its announced merger with Tourmaline Bio., was a late stage, cell therapy company developing an innovative method of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (“allo-HSCT”), called Facilitated Allo-HSCT Therapy.