Octane Biotech and Currus Biologics Automate CAR T-Cell Therapy Manufacturing
The closed production process reduced hands-on work and viral vector use per batch, lowering costs ahead of CUR-001’s first human trial.
Key Points
- Octane Biotech and Currus Biologics announced the automation of manufacturing for CUR-001, a CAR T-cell candidate for solid tumours, on Octane’s Cocoon Platform.
- FDA clearance of Currus’ investigational new drug application permits a first-in-human Phase 1 trial in mesothelin-positive advanced refractory solid tumours, with first dosing expected in early 2027.
- The companies said the automated process reduced hands-on operator time and viral vector requirements per batch, lowering manufacturing costs.
Octane Biotech, a developer of manufacturing solutions for cell and gene therapies, and Currus Biologics, an Australian biotechnology company developing a bispecific antibody platform, announced that they have automated manufacturing for CUR-001 on Octane’s Cocoon Platform. CUR-001 is Currus’ lead chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell candidate for solid tumors. The companies said the transfer established a closed manufacturing process intended to support consistent production as CUR-001 enters clinical development.
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The milestone follows FDA clearance of Currus’ investigational new drug application for CUR-001, announced in September 2026. The clearance allows Currus to begin a first-in-human, open-label Phase 1 basket trial in patients with mesothelin-positive advanced refractory solid tumors. The first patient is expected to be dosed in early 2027.
CUR-001 is the first clinical program from Currus’ BEAT (Bispecific Engager of Antigen-presenting cells and T cells) platform. It combines an autologous (sourced from the patient), FLAG-tagged CAR T-cell therapy targeting mesothelin with a BEAT bispecific antibody. The antibody simultaneously engages CAR T-cells and antigen-presenting cells, a design intended to activate CAR T-cells in lymphoid tissue and counter the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.
Currus describes the platform as designed to address barriers to CAR T-cell efficacy, including T-cell exhaustion, limited proliferation and persistence, and limited epitope spreading. The platform is designed to work with any CAR T format or tumor target.
Automated manufacturing
The two companies transferred the CUR-001 manufacturing process onto the Cocoon Platform, Octane’s closed, automated system for producing patient-specific cell therapies in a controlled bioreactor. They said the move reduced hands-on operator time and the amount of viral vector required per batch, two major cost drivers in autologous CAR T-cell manufacturing, resulting in a lower-cost process. Octane also describes the platform as designed to reduce batch-to-batch variability and cleanroom footprint.
“The success of an autologous therapy depends heavily on the process behind it. Moving CUR-001 onto the Cocoon gives us a consistent, closed process as we head into the clinic, and a manufacturing model that can grow with the program,” said Sam Cobb, Chief Executive Officer of Currus Biologics.
“Automating CUR-001 on the Cocoon means fewer manual steps, less variability between batches and a process built to scale from Phase 1 onward,” said Louis Briggs, Vice President, Octane Biotech.
Octane and Currus plan to continue working together as CUR-001 moves through clinical development, from Phase 1 into later-stage trials. The collaboration is intended to establish a reproducible manufacturing process that can meet the program’s future requirements.
For the Phase 1 trial, CUR-001 will be manufactured on the Cocoon Platform at the Melbourne facility of Cell Therapies Pty Ltd (CTPL), a contract development and manufacturing organization for cell and gene therapies. The companies said technology transfer of the automated process had been completed at the facility, establishing operational readiness for clinical manufacturing for the study. The program will draw on CTPL’s experience in good manufacturing practice (GMP) production of autologous CAR T-cell therapies.
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