GAIA BioMedicine and TreeFrog Therapeutics Announce Collaboration for the Expansion of Allogeneic NK-like Cells Against Solid Tumors

FUKUOKA, Japan and BORDEAUX, France, Feb. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GAIA BioMedicine, a Japan-based clinical-stage company pioneering allogeneic NK-like cell therapies against solid tumors, and TreeFrog Therapeutics, a global biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of cell therapies based on the biomimetic C-Stem^™ technology platform, today announced they have entered into a collaboration for the expansion of donor-derived NK-like cells.

“With 3 ongoing clinical trials, GAIA is one of the world’s most advanced cell therapy companies in the field of solid tumors. They have a very compelling allogeneic immune cell therapy strategy, which relies on GAIA-102 NK-like cells – a specific population of immune cells isolated from healthy donor blood samples that exhibit strong anti-tumor cytotoxic potency. Our Japanese team is very excited to start collaborating with GAIA scientists, and we strongly believe that GAIA’s innovative approach, combined with the C-Stem^™ platform, could lead to fast and broad patient access to adoptive cell therapies against solid tumors.”
Frederic Desdouits, Ph.D., CEO of TreeFrog Therapeutics

“Adoptive cell therapies for highly prevalent cancers, such as lung cancer, which is the second most common cancer worldwide with over 2 million cases every year, require the mass-production of immune cells. This is one of the challenges for our company and many other biotech companies that develop cellular and tissue-based products. In our case, TreeFrog’s C-Stem™ technology could enable the massive expansion of GAIA-102 (NK-like cells) in conventional stirred-tank bioreactors, while maintaining its desired function and phenotype. In the process of further developing our adoptive immune cell therapy programs and expanding their therapeutic reach, C-Stem^™ could constitute an alternative platform for large-scale GMP manufacturing.”
Kazuyuki Kuramori, President and CEO of GAIA BioMedicine

About GAIA BioMedicine
GAIA BioMedicine, Inc., was founded in 2015 by Prof Yoshikazu Yonemitsu (Graduate school of Kyushu University) as a spin-off venture of Kyushu University. Now a clinical-stage, technology-driven biopharmaceutical company, Gaia is advancing several cell therapy programs in solid cancers based on GAIA-102 (NK-like cells).
www.gaia-biomed.com

About TreeFrog Therapeutics
TreeFrog Therapeutics is a French-based biotech company aiming to unlock access to cell therapies for millions of patients. Bringing together over 100 biophysicists, cell biologists and bioproduction engineers, TreeFrog Therapeutics raised $82M over the past 3 years to advance a pipeline of stem cell-based therapies in immuno-oncology and regenerative medicine. In 2022, the company opened technological hubs in Boston, USA, and Kobe, Japan, with the aim of driving the adoption of the C-Stem^™ platform and establishing strategic alliances with leading academic, biotech, and industry players in the field of cell therapy.
www.treefrog.fr

MEDIA CONTACTS

GAIA BioMedicine
Kazuyuki Kuramori, President, CEO
+81-92-642-4708
[email protected]

TreeFrog Therapeutics
Pierre-Emmanuel Gaultier, Head of Communication
+ 33 6 45 77 42 58 
[email protected]