Queensland Govt funds for BioOra's innovative CAR T-cell biomanufacturing at ENTRI
Queensland Govt funds for BioOra's innovative CAR T-cell biomanufacturing at ENTRI
BioOra is pleased to share news of the Queensland State Government's $7.7 million investment through the Sovereign Industry Development Fund (SIDF) to fast-track its clinical and commercial-scale CAR T-cell manufacturing capability at ENTRI in Brisbane.
The investment marks an important milestone in BioOra's strategy to expand advanced cell therapy manufacturing across Australasia and strengthen regional access to CAR T-cell therapies.
Dr Laurence Cooper, BioOra Medical Advisory Board Chair, said:
"Building the sovereign capability for cell and gene therapies in Queensland is not just about oncology; these therapies have the potential to cure many other diseases, and whilst it begins with cancer, we have the potential to deliver hope to many patients with autoimmune conditions that impact their daily lives. Partnering with the TRI enables us to leverage their expertise to co-develop new treatments and to expand our portfolio of therapies for Australians."
The SIDF investment will support BioOra's establishment of manufacturing operations at ENTRI, a purpose-built, industry-grade, stand-alone cGMP manufacturing facility due to open later this year.
BioOra is committed to investing in long-term capability in Australia's biomedical sector and will capitalise a wholly owned Australian subsidiary, creating 72 new specialist jobs by 2029, with the first 20 to be recruited this year.
These roles will span advanced manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, process development and translational research, helping build sovereign biomanufacturing capability while supporting the growth of a highly skilled advanced therapies workforce.
BioOra has developed proprietary manufacturing systems and processes that enable the efficient production of CAR T-cell therapies for commercial application. The semi-automated, closed-system manufacturing platform, developed by BioOra strategic partner Octane Medical Group (the Cocoon® system), has been used extensively by BioOra in a successful Phase 1 clinical trial and is now supporting an ongoing Phase 2 registration trial in New Zealand.
ENTRI will provide scalable manufacturing infrastructure, cGMP capability and technical support for a range of products, including cell and gene therapies such as BioOra's CAR T-cell therapies.
Together, BioOra's manufacturing expertise and ENTRI's world-class infrastructure will help accelerate the delivery of advanced therapies to patients while strengthening Australia's sovereign biomedical manufacturing capability.
BioOra acknowledges the Queensland Government's landmark $180.6 million SIDF and welcomes its investment in sovereign biomedical manufacturing capabilities.