Catalent Inc., the global CDMO recently acquired by Novo Holdings, has entered a strategic collaboration with Galapagos NV, a biotechnology company with operations in the U.S. and Europe, to support decentralized manufacturing for clinical studies of GLPG5101, Galapagos’ investigational CAR-T therapy for relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) indications.

Catalent’s commercial cell therapy manufacturing facility in Princeton, New Jersey, will support manufacturing for Galapagos’ upcoming trials in New Jersey, New York, and surrounding areas.

Galapagos offers a decentralized manufacturing platform for cell therapies, which is intended to be set up near cancer treatment centers. This type of therapy has demonstrated significant effectiveness in patients with NHL, including those who have not responded to previous treatments. By positioning the manufacturing closer to patients, Galapagos’ platform aims to provide fresh, suitable, stem-like early memory cell therapy with a median vein-to-vein time of seven days. This approach eliminates the need for cryopreservation and bridging therapy.

“Catalent is passionate about increasing patient access to life-changing cell therapies like those being developed by Galapagos,” said Delara Motlagh, Vice President, Global Cell Therapy and Plasmid DNA at Catalent. “We are delighted by this collaboration to support Galapagos’ decentralized cell therapy approach to bring these pioneering treatments to more patients with certain aggressive forms of NHL in a median vein-to-vein time of seven days. With our highly experienced cell therapy team, state-of-the-art facility network, and central location, we enable timely delivery of these important therapies.”