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A closed, autologous bioprocess optimized for TCR-T cell therapies
  • +8
  • Jennitte Stevens,
  • Yijun Liu,
  • Eugenia Zah,
  • Carlos Arbelaez,
  • Haejin Kim,
  • Edwige Gros,
  • Ranelle Buck,
  • Kayley Cox,
  • Sungeun Kim,
  • Martina Kopp,
  • Kathryn Henckels
Jennitte Stevens
Amgen Inc

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Yijun Liu
Amgen Inc
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Eugenia Zah
Amgen Inc
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Carlos Arbelaez
Amgen Inc
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Haejin Kim
Amgen Inc
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Edwige Gros
Amgen Inc
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Ranelle Buck
Amgen Inc
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Kayley Cox
Amgen Inc
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Sungeun Kim
Amgen Inc San Francisco
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Martina Kopp
Amgen Inc
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Kathryn Henckels
Amgen Inc
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Abstract

Autologous cell therapy has proven to be an effective treatment for hematological malignancies. Cell therapies for solid tumors are on the horizon, however the high cost and complexity of manufacturing these therapies remain a challenge. Routinely used open steps to transfer cells and reagents through unit operations further burden the workflow reducing efficiency and increasing the chance for human error. Here we describe a fully closed, autologous bioprocess generating MAGE-B2 TCR-T cells. This bioprocess yielded 5 – 12e9 MAGE-B2-specific TCR-expressing T cells, transduced at low MOIs, within 7 to 10 days, and cells exhibited an enriched memory T cell phenotype and enhanced metabolic fitness. It was demonstrated that activating, transducing, and expanding leuko-apheresed cells in a single bioreactor without a T cell enrichment step promoted lentivirus transduction efficiency while resulting in comparable level of T cell purity (~97%) as that of leukopak cells that went through CD8+ and CD4+ positive selection. The critical process parameters of the bioreactor, including culturing at a high cell density (7e6 cells/mL), adjusting rocking agitations during phases of scale up, lowering glycolysis through addition of 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), and modulating IL-2 levels, were shown to positively regulate TCR expression and cell doubling time, and promote resistance to effector-associated apoptosis of TCR-T cells. The bioprocess described herein supports scale-out feasibility by enabling processing of multiple patients’ batches in parallel within a Grade C cleanroom.
01 Jul 2022Submitted to Biotechnology and Bioengineering
08 Jul 2022Submission Checks Completed
08 Jul 2022Assigned to Editor
14 Jul 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
11 Sep 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Major
11 Sep 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
08 Dec 20221st Revision Received
08 Dec 2022Assigned to Editor
08 Dec 2022Submission Checks Completed
08 Dec 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
23 Dec 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
23 Jan 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
10 Feb 20232nd Revision Received
11 Feb 2023Assigned to Editor
11 Feb 2023Submission Checks Completed
11 Feb 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 Mar 2023Editorial Decision: Accept