Aurigene to Provide Cell Therapy Discovery Services to Edity to Support Clinical Development

Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services, an India-based contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRO/CDMO), said on July 1, 2024 that it would be providing discovery services in the area of cell therapy to Edity Therapeutics, headquartered in Israel (1).

The partnership, both companies announced in a press release, intends to not only support but also accelerate clinical development of both advanced and novel technologies, and builds on Aurigene’s track record of discovery and development services for advanced therapies, including but not limited to antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), cell therapeutics, and viral vectors (1). The agreement follows an initial strategic collaboration started between Edity and Aurigene’s parent company, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, in January 2024 (2).

“We are delighted to add Edity to the growing list of global companies recognizing Aurigene as a valued partner in the biologics and advanced therapies space,” said Roger Lias, PhD, global commercial head of biologics for Aurigene, in the press release. “Our true end-to-end service offering from discovery through large-scale CGMP [current good manufacturing practice] manufacture allows us to efficiently deliver speed, unwavering quality and economically viable solutions to our customers as they bring much-needed therapeutics to patients.”

In the press release, Edity detailed its development of a first-of-its-kind immune cell delivery platform, which the company says allows for selective delivery intracellular therapeutic proteins—with the end result of targeting cells at a high level of specificity (1). Currently, Edity says it has product candidates across the fields of oncology, gene therapy, autoimmune disorders, and regenerative medicine.

Regarding oncology, Edity said it has been focusing on meeting the challenges of cell therapies for solid tumors, including antigen heterogeneity, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and tumor resistance to death (2).

"We are excited about the collaboration and look forward to working with Edity in building novel technologies,” Aurigene CEO Akhil Ravi said in the release. “Edity’s cellular reprogramming technology to deliver therapeutic payloads, specifically to target cells, adds a new mechanism to CAR [chimeric antigen receptor]-T based cell therapeutics with the potential to significantly increase the efficacy."

In January 2024, Edity announced the beginning of a strategic collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, the parent company of Aurigene, to create novel cell therapy medicines using Edity’s proprietary delivery platform. That announcement followed the acquisition of an equity stake in Edity by Dr. Reddy’s (2). The new pairing of Edity with Aurigene aligns with the latter company’s goal of providing cost-effective manufacturing of small molecules and biologics (1).

“We are thrilled to be working with Aurigene's world-class team,” Edity CEO Michal Golan Mashiach said in the release. “Their experience and breadth of technology offerings will help Edity to advance our pipeline and help patients with severe diseases. This collaboration will support our growth as we seek to create best-in-class medicines.”

References

1. Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services. Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services Limited, a Global CRDMO, and Edity Announce a Strategic Collaboration in Cell Therapy. Press Release. July 1, 2024.
2. Edity Therapeutics. Edity Therapeutics Enters Into a Strategic Collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories to Advance Novel Cell Therapy Approach Using Edity’s Proprietary Delivery Platform. Press Release. Jan. 16, 2024.