ScaleReady, in collaboration with Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, Bio-Techne Corporation and CellReady, announced that March Biosciences has been awarded a $200,000 G-Rex® Grant. March Biosciences' G-Rex® Grant will be used to advance the manufacturing of their lead asset, MB-105, a novel investigational autologous CAR-T cell therapy targeting CD5 for patients with T-cell lymphomas.
"As we ramp up clinical manufacturing and advance towards commercialization of MB-105, scalability continues to be an important focal point. This grant will enable continued development of a robust cGMP process with the G-Rex bioreactor to further reduce complexity, time, and costs incurred with manufacturing autologous CAR-T products," says Dr. Maksim Mamonkin, Chief Scientific Officer at March Biosciences.
"We understand how to overcome the scalability and efficiency barriers that March Biosciences faced with manufacturing an autologous CAR-T product and are happy to help March Biosciences establish nimble MB-105 manufacturing with a G-Rex Grant" said John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Wolf and co-inventor of G-Rex.
As part of the G-Rex Grant, March Biosciences will continue development of a G-Rex-centric fully integrated CAR-T cell manufacturing process to further streamline the scalable cGMP production of MB-105 and other CAR-T products in the research pipeline.
In January 2025, March Biosciences received U.S. FDA orphan drug designation for MB-105 for the treatment of relapsed / refractory CD5-positive T-cell lymphoma. MB-105 is in development for CD5-positive hematologic malignancies, including T-cell lymphoma (TCL), T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and other CD5+ B cell non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (B-NHL) indications. The therapy employs a proprietary CAR design that enables selective targeting of malignant cells while preserving normal T-cell function.
ScaleReady's G-Rex Grant Program is advancing the state of cell and gene-modified cell therapy (CGT) development and manufacturing by awarding individual Grant Awards worth up to $300,000. With nearly 200 grants awarded and over 50 new applications in queue, the G-Rex Grant Program has been extended with millions of dollars in additional funding. G-Rex Grant Recipients also gain access to exclusive support from ScaleReady's growing consortium of G-Rex Grant Partners who bring best-in-class tools and technologies as well as unparalleled knowledge and expertise in the areas of cGMP manufacturing, quality and regulatory affairs, CGT business operations, and more.