CellFiber Co., Ltd. (“CellFiber”), a Tokyo-based biotechnology company built on its proprietary CellFiber® cell encapsulation platform, and Tidewave Bio (“Tidewave”), a Los Angeles-based biotechnology company developing a universal, off-the-shelf immunotherapy platform for solid tumors, announced a collaboration to evaluate CellFiber’s closed, automated 3D cell culture platform in support of the scalable manufacturing of Tidewave’s next-generation cell immunotherapy.

Under the collaboration, the parties have agreed to undertake a joint proof-of-concept evaluation comparing conventional planar (2D) cell culture against CellFiber’s encapsulation (3D) approach for the expansion and differentiation of immune cells relevant to Tidewave’s allogeneic platform. The work, to be conducted at CellFiber’s facility in Tokyo, is designed to generate process performance data that will drive Tidewave’s manufacturing strategy as the program advances, while demonstrating the applicability of the CellFiber® platform to off-the-shelf solid tumor immunotherapy manufacturing. Any further activities beyond the proof-of-concept evaluation will be subject to separate written agreement between the parties.

“Tidewave Bio’s mission is to make next-generation cancer immunotherapy accessible to every solid tumor patient, regardless of tumor type, treatment setting, or geography,” said Francois Binette, Chief Executive Officer of Tidewave Bio. “Delivering on that mission requires manufacturing approaches that can scale efficiently, reliably, and cost-effectively. We are pleased to partner with CellFiber to evaluate how their innovative encapsulation platform can support our process development strategy as we advance toward the clinic.”

“Tidewave Bio is pursuing a genuinely differentiated approach to solid tumor immunotherapy, and we are excited to support their program,” said Dr. Kazuchika Furuishi, Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer of CellFiber. “Our CellFiber® platform was designed to remove the manufacturing bottlenecks that have historically constrained cell therapy scale-up. This collaboration is an opportunity to demonstrate the value our closed, automated 3D culture system can bring to the next generation of off-the-shelf cell therapies, and to advance our shared vision of making these therapies more widely accessible to patients.”