Blood Centers of America will partner with Galapagos to help manufacture the Belgian biotech firm's CAR-T cell therapies, the companies said May 15.
Under the agreement, BCA will support the decentralized manufacturing of the company's hematology/oncology CAR-T therapy candidates across its 50 community blood centers in 43 states.
Galapagos will also tap BCA's apheresis capacity. Apheresis is a process that involves separating specific blood components, such as white blood cells, from a patient's blood, which are then used to manufacture CAR-T cells for treatment.
"Our collaboration with Blood Centers of America marks a major milestone for Galapagos' U.S. expansion by establishing centers for support of our pivotal studies, with the potential to be used for commercial introduction," Paul Stoffels, MD, CEO and chairman of the board of directors for Galapagos, said in a news release.
By using BCA's network, Galapagos aims to speed up the manufacturing process, with the ultimate goal of delivering fresh cells to patients within seven days of collection.