- Excellos Inc. selected to manufacture Galapagos’ CAR-T cell therapy for the ATALANTA-1 clinical trial.
- Manufacturing will take place at Excellos’ facility in San Diego, with a seven-day vein-to-vein time.
Excellos Inc., a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) and member of Blood Centers of America (BCA), has been selected to manufacture Galapagos’ CAR-T cell therapy candidate, GLPG5101. The production will support the recently FDA-cleared ATALANTA-1 clinical study targeting relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients in the U.S.
The end-to-end manufacturing process will be carried out at Excellos’ new facility in San Diego, California. Galapagos’ decentralized platform aims to improve CAR-T cell therapy production by offering faster delivery and greater scalability. With a median vein-to-vein time of seven days, the process also allows physicians more control, potentially improving patient outcomes.
“We are excited to manufacture Galapagos’ CAR-T cell therapy candidate using their decentralized manufacturing platform,” said Thomas VanCott, CEO of Excellos. He noted that the collaboration would enable efficient production and delivery of fresh CAR-T cells within a short timeframe, leveraging the company’s facility and expertise.
The agreement marks the first site initiation under the strategic collaboration between Galapagos’ U.S. entity, GLPG US, Inc., and BCA. This initiative will see BCA’s national network of blood centers providing decentralized manufacturing services near cancer treatment centers across the U.S., offering faster access to innovative therapies.
Overview of outsourcing trends 
