CARTx.health is developing an off-the-shelf, allogeneic CAR T cell immunotherapy platform that uses CRISPR/AAV gene editing to engineer gamma/delta T cells for cancer treatment. The platform targets pediatric cancers like T-ALL and high-grade gliomas, with a manufacturing process that reduces production costs to under 10% of current autologous CAR T therapies. One healthy donor's cells can be expanded to treat up to 10 patients.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Cancer patients worldwide lack access to effective, affordable, and less toxic treatment options, particularly for pediatric cancers. Current autologous CAR T cell therapies are prohibitively expensive, require lengthy manufacturing times, and carry risks of severe side effects like graft-versus-host disease, neurotoxicity, and cytokine release syndrome.
Solution
CARTx.health provides an off-the-shelf, allogeneic CAR T cell immunotherapy platform that genetically engineers gamma/delta T (γδ T) cells using CRISPR/AAV technology. Unlike conventional CAR αβ T cells, γδ T cells kill tumors in an MHC-independent manner, eliminating the risk of lethal graft-versus-host disease and reducing neurotoxicity and cytokine release syndrome. The platform enables site-specific CAR insertion while simultaneously knocking out unwanted genes, such as replacing CD38 with a CD38CAR for T-ALL or TGFBR2 with a GD2CAR for solid tumors. CARTx's proprietary manufacturing process expands cells from one healthy donor to 1 billion cells, enough to treat up to 10 patients, reducing production costs by over 90% compared to current therapies. The therapy is immediately available as an off-the-shelf product, and the platform is generalizable to accept any CAR for various disease targets.
Target Audience
Primary customers are pediatric oncology centers and hospitals treating children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain cancers, as well as clinical researchers and healthcare providers seeking more affordable and accessible CAR T cell therapies.
Features
- CRISPR/AAV-based site-specific gene insertion that avoids random integration and secondary cancer risk
- Off-the-shelf allogeneic γδ T cells that eliminate graft-versus-host disease risk and provide MHC-independent tumor killing
- Proprietary manufacturing process expanding one donor's cells to 1 billion cells, treating up to 10 patients and reducing costs by over 90%
- Pipeline targeting T-ALL with CD38KO/CD38 CAR and high-grade gliomas with GD2CAR, with additional targets including CD19 for autoimmune diseases and B-cell malignancies
- Platform generalizable to any CAR, enabling rapid development across multiple cancer and disease indications
- γδ T cells naturally home to various body tissues and organs, enhancing solid tumor penetration