On January 19, 2017 Argos Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:ARGS) ("Argos"), an immuno-oncology company focused on the development and commercialization of individualized immunotherapies based on the Arcelis precision immunotherapy technology platform, reported the completion of a lease agreement with Keystone-Centennial II, LLC, for 40,000 square feet of newly constructed manufacturing space at the Center for Technology & Innovation (CTI) on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC (Press release, Argos Therapeutics, JAN 19, 2017, View Source [SID1234517462]).
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Argos plans to use the manufacturing space at CTI to prepare for submission of a biologics license application (BLA) to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and to support initial commercialization of rocapuldencel-T, the company’s most advanced product candidate, which is being evaluated for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) in the company’s pivotal ADAPT Phase 3 clinical trial. Because the company’s Arcelis technology platform enables broad geographic coverage from a single facility, CTI is expected to support both domestic and international launches for the first few years, pending regulatory approval of rocapuldencel-T.
"Securing a lease for the CTI facility is a critical step on our path towards becoming a fully-integrated commercial-stage biotechnology company," said Jeff Abbey, president and chief executive officer of Argos. "Our two-stage manufacturing strategy positions us to employ an established and proven-effective manual manufacturing process at CTI with the capacity to support approximately 1,800 patients per year at launch, with expansion capacity to 2,400 patients per year, pending regulatory approval. This strategy optimizes capital utilization as we prepare for a BLA submission for rocapuldencel-T and also allows us to assess early commercial uptake and better project capacity requirements for our planned 125,000 square foot Centerpoint facility in Durham, NC, which can be designed to accommodate our automated manufacturing process."
"In our role of facilitating economic development, we applaud the commitment Argos is making to extend its research partnerships and North Carolina roots to Centennial Campus," said Dr. Alan Rebar, Vice Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Economic Development, at North Carolina State University. "We are excited that Argos has chosen CTI as it seeks to develop and commercialize cutting-edge immunotherapies for people with serious illnesses and look forward to a productive partnership."
About the Arcelis Technology Platform
Arcelis is a precision immunotherapy technology that captures both mutated and variant antigens that are specific to each patient’s individual disease. It is designed to overcome immunosuppression by producing a specifically targeted, durable memory T-cell response without adjuvants that may be associated with toxicity. The technology is potentially applicable to the treatment of a wide range of different cancers and infectious diseases, and is designed to overcome many of the manufacturing and commercialization challenges that have impeded other personalized immunotherapies. The Arcelis process uses only a small disease sample or biopsy as the source of disease-specific antigens, and the patient’s own dendritic cells, which are optimized from cells collected by a single leukapheresis procedure. The proprietary process uses RNA isolated from the patient’s disease sample to program dendritic cells to target disease-specific antigens. These activated, antigen-loaded dendritic cells are then formulated with the patient’s plasma, and administered via intradermal injection as an individualized immunotherapy.