Be Biopharma, Inc. (“Be Bio”) and National Resilience, Inc. (Resilience) today announced a strategic collaboration to advance initial programs in Be Bio’s rare disease pipeline. Be Bio’s proprietary engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM) platform is harnessing the power of the human B cell to create a new class of autologous and allogeneic cellular medicines that durably and redosably produce therapeutic proteins in vivo without toxic pre-conditioning.
The two companies are investing to drive innovation and reliability in cell therapy manufacturing, a critical success factor for broad and meaningful patient impact. As part of this unique partnership, Resilience will dedicate personnel solely to produce and supply Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-grade viral vector and cell therapy drug product for the initial programs in Be Bio’s rare disease pipeline. Through a creative cost and risk-sharing model, Resilience will be responsible for manufacturing costs and receive potential future milestones and royalties.
Over the past year, Be Bio has built a strong foundation with our BeCM platform, pipeline, team, and recent $130 million financing. Manufacturing is critical to rapidly progress our BeCMs to the clinic and we have built non-GMP manufacturing capabilities in our Cambridge facility. This deal allows us to drive GMP manufacturing with an outstanding partner, and in a capital efficient manner, Resilience’s broad manufacturing capabilities, strong collaborative spirit and dedicated resources to our platform, make them an ideal partner for our BeCM programs.”
Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Be Bio.
Resilience will lead clinical GMP manufacturing of both the viral vector and the cell therapy drug product for Be Bio’s initial rare disease programs to support first-in-human clinical trials. Resilience will apply its pioneering bioprocessing solutions and network of cell therapy sites, including facilities in Research Triangle Park, NC, Philadelphia, PA, Waltham, MA and Marlborough, MA to conduct the work.
This collaboration shows our excitement for the promising science of Be Bio’s proprietary BeCM platforms, and our confidence in their expertise to deliver transformative cell therapies, By working alongside Be Bio early in the drug development process, we aim to accelerate the development of their B cell medicines with the potential to unlock a pipeline of product candidates across a variety of serious diseases.”
Rahul Singhvi, Sc.D., Chief Executive Officer of Resilience.
About B Cells – A New Class of Cellular Medicines
Imagine what could “Be?” In nature, a single B cell engrafts in the bone marrow and can produce thousands of proteins per second at constant levels over decades. B cells are nature’s exquisite medicine factories, manufacturing proteins to fight disease and maintain health. Unleashing the power of B cells is driving a new class of cellular medicines – Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM). BeCMs have the potential to be durable, allogeneic, redosable and administered without toxic conditioning. The promise of BeCMs could transform therapeutic biologics with broad application — across protein classes, patient populations and therapeutic areas.
About Be Biopharma
Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”) is pioneering Engineered B Cell Medicines (BeCM) to dramatically improve patients’ lives who are living with cancer, rare diseases and other serious conditions. With eyes locked on the patient, our team of purpose-driven scientists, technologists, manufacturing experts and business builders collaborate to create a bold new class of cell therapies. Be Bio was founded in October 2020 by Longwood Fund and B cell engineering pioneers David Rawlings, M.D., and Richard James, Ph.D. from Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Be Bio is backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb and Takeda Ventures. Since our founding, Be Bio’s investors have committed over $180 million to enable the Company to re-imagine medicine based on the power of B cell therapy.
About Resilience
Resilience is a technology-focused biomanufacturing company dedicated to broadening access to complex medicines. Founded in 2020, the company is building a sustainable network of high-tech, end-to-end manufacturing solutions to ensure the treatments of today and tomorrow can be made quickly, safely, and at scale. Resilience seeks to free its partners to focus on the discoveries that improve patients’ lives by continuously advancing the science of biopharmaceutical manufacturing and development.