The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced the funding of the NExt-generation Biomanufacturing ULtra-scalable Approach (NEBULA) project. NEBULA seeks to develop a more affordable and accessible method to manufacture personalized cell therapies using an individual’s own cells for the treatment of chronic or degenerative diseases, such as heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, or diabetes.
Cellino Biotech, a woman-founded company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will lead the project with up to $25 million in research funding from ARPA-H over five years. While current methods to manufacture cell therapies are time- and cost-intensive, Cellino’s modular biomanufacturing approach using a patient’s stem cells will yield more of the desired cell types while reducing the manufacturing footprint and number of expert personnel required, thus creating more affordable therapies overall. The autonomous process represents ARPA-H’s first investment in boosting domestic production capability and capacity of cellular therapies.
Massachusetts is home to ARPA-H’s Investor Catalyst Hub. Massachusetts-based organizations can join the Hub’s nationwide network of spokes collectively working to speed the commercialization of groundbreaking health solutions.
