Xcell Biosciences & Royal Perth Hospital Partner on Next-Gen Automated TIL Manufacturing
Xcell Biosciences Australia PTY LTD (Xcellbio), an affiliate of Xcell Biosciences, Inc., a pioneering platform company focused on advancing cell and gene therapy applications, has announced a strategic collaboration with Royal Perth Hospital. This partnership aims to develop an advanced, automated, and clinically scalable manufacturing workflow for tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies using Xcellbio’s AVATAR™ Foundry system. The primary objective of this initiative is to equip Royal Perth Hospital physicians and clinical researchers with the capability to rapidly manufacture potent TIL therapies for use in upcoming clinical trials.
TIL therapies represent a revolutionary approach in cellular immunotherapy, offering promising treatment options for patients battling a wide range of solid malignant tumors. These therapies harness the body’s own immune system by isolating, expanding, and reinfusing tumor-fighting TILs back into the patient. The first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a TIL-based therapy was granted in 2024, underscoring the growing importance and potential of this innovative treatment modality.
Despite their clinical promise, TIL therapies present significant manufacturing challenges. They require the production of tens of billions of therapeutic cells to achieve sufficient potency, making current manufacturing methods slow, cumbersome, and highly labor-intensive. The traditional process spans several weeks, involving meticulous manual efforts to generate an effective therapeutic dose. These constraints have created a pressing need for more efficient, scalable, and automated manufacturing solutions.
To address these challenges, Xcellbio has engineered the AVATAR platform, a cutting-edge system designed to streamline and expedite the development and manufacture of robust cell therapies. Central to the platform is a proprietary incubation technology that enhances the metabolic fitness of TILs. This process results in a more potent and persistent therapeutic product capable of overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, thereby improving clinical outcomes. The AVATAR Foundry system is specifically designed to support cell therapy production under current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) protocols in a fully automated capacity, ensuring both efficiency and compliance with regulatory standards.
“At Royal Perth Hospital, we are deeply committed to exploring innovative approaches to cell therapy that can provide the best possible care for our patients,” said Dr. Zlatibor Velickovic, Director of the Ray and Bill Dobney Cell and Tissue Therapies WA facility at Royal Perth Hospital. “By partnering with the scientists at Xcellbio, we are taking a significant step forward in developing a much-needed automated workflow for TIL manufacturing. Implementing the AVATAR Foundry system as the latest technological innovation at our center will allow us to enhance the production of these life-saving therapies.”
As part of this agreement, Xcellbio’s scientific team will collaborate closely with Royal Perth Hospital researchers to develop and optimize an automated TIL manufacturing process based on the AVATAR platform. The key goals of this effort include achieving high standards for cell quality, quantity, and potency, ensuring that the resulting workflow is capable of supporting clinical trials at the hospital’s dedicated cell therapy facility.
James Lim, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Xcellbio, emphasized the transformative potential of this collaboration, stating, “The emerging therapeutic class of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes holds incredible promise, particularly for solid tumors. However, current manufacturing methods require long expansion times and high cell doses to be effective in patients. By leveraging the AVATAR platform, we can significantly reduce manufacturing time while enhancing therapeutic potency, making these treatments more accessible and effective.”
Xcellbio’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Feth, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the significance of TIL therapies and the critical role automation can play in making them more widely available. “TILs provide a compelling use case for our technologies, and this collaboration with the outstanding team at Royal Perth Hospital presents a unique opportunity to expand the accessibility of these life-saving therapies,” said Feth. “We are excited to work together to improve TIL manufacturing and, ultimately, make these crucial therapies a viable option for patients in Australia and around the world.”
The Growing Potential of TIL Therapy and the Need for Automation
TIL therapy has garnered increasing attention in the field of oncology due to its ability to provide durable and complete responses in patients with aggressive tumors. Unlike traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, which often have broad and harmful effects on healthy cells, TIL therapy harnesses the patient’s own immune system, offering a targeted and personalized approach to cancer treatment.
The process of TIL therapy involves extracting TILs from a patient’s tumor, expanding them to large quantities in a laboratory setting, and then reinfusing them back into the patient. These reinfused cells recognize and attack cancer cells, helping to eradicate the tumor. However, the complex and resource-intensive nature of current TIL manufacturing workflows presents significant barriers to widespread adoption.
The AVATAR Foundry system is designed to overcome these barriers by automating key steps in the TIL manufacturing process. By integrating advanced bioprocessing techniques and real-time monitoring capabilities, the platform ensures consistent production of high-quality therapeutic cells, reducing variability and improving clinical outcomes. Additionally, automation minimizes the need for extensive manual labor, which not only accelerates production timelines but also lowers costs, making these therapies more financially feasible for healthcare institutions and patients alike.
The Future of Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing
The collaboration between Xcellbio and Royal Perth Hospital is part of a broader effort to drive innovation in cell and gene therapy manufacturing. As the field continues to evolve, there is a growing need for solutions that can scale up production while maintaining stringent quality control measures. Automated platforms such as AVATAR Foundry play a critical role in meeting these demands, enabling researchers and clinicians to bring advanced therapies to patients faster and more efficiently.
This partnership also underscores Australia’s commitment to advancing biomanufacturing capabilities, positioning the country as a leader in the development of next-generation cell therapies. By investing in cutting-edge technologies and fostering collaboration between industry and healthcare institutions, Australia is paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in personalized medicine.
About Xcell Biosciences
Xcell Biosciences is dedicated to enhancing the performance and safety of cell and gene-based therapies through the development of groundbreaking technology platforms. The company’s commercial instruments and software empower researchers to gain novel insights into immune and tumor biology, facilitating the translation of these insights into scalable patient treatments. With headquarters in Melbourne and San Francisco, Xcellbio continues to pioneer innovations in cell therapy manufacturing. More information can be found at www.xcellbio.com.
