ScaleReady awards a $300,000 G-Rex® Grant to A2 Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Rhea-AI Summary

ScaleReady has awarded a $300,000 G-Rex® Grant to A2 Biotherapeutics to support process development and evaluation of G-Rex for manufacturing cell therapies. The grant enables A2 to explore the G-CART process, a standardized workflow for CAR-T drug product manufacturing, developed by Cell Ready.

A2 will evaluate this platform for their proprietary Tmod™ platform, a dual-signal integrator system for cancer cell therapy targeting various solid tumor indications including colorectal, lung, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers. The G-Rex Grant Program, which has awarded nearly 200 grants with over 50 new applications pending, has been extended with millions in additional funding.

Positive

• Grant provides $300,000 in valuable resources for process development
• Access to exclusive support from ScaleReady's consortium of G-Rex Grant Partners
• Opportunity to evaluate standardized G-CART process for high-throughput manufacturing

Negative

• None.

Insights

Biotech Manufacturing Specialist

ScaleReady's $300,000 grant to A2 Biotherapeutics validates G-Rex technology but represents modest financial impact for Bio-Techne.

This grant represents a strategic move in the cell therapy manufacturing space. The $300,000 G-Rex Grant awarded to A2 Biotherapeutics highlights growing interest in alternative production methods beyond traditional bioreactors. The G-Rex platform's value proposition lies in its modular, flexible approach that enables manufacturers to adapt production scale according to patient demand—a critical factor in cell therapy economics.

The technical advantages are significant: G-Rex technology provides a simpler gas exchange mechanism that reduces handling steps and contamination risks compared to conventional systems. For A2's Tmod platform targeting solid tumors (colorectal, lung, pancreatic, and ovarian), manufacturing efficiency is particularly crucial given the complex dual-receptor system that distinguishes between normal cells and cancer cells based on tumor loss of heterozygosity.

Cell therapy manufacturing constraints remain one of the industry's primary bottlenecks, making process development investments like this potentially valuable for accelerating clinical programs. The standardized G-CART workflow and GMP ProPak cytokines (IL-2, IL-7, IL-15) mentioned will likely reduce process variability—a persistent challenge in cell therapy production.

For Bio-Techne (TECH), this represents modest technology validation rather than significant immediate revenue. The program's scale (nearly 200 grants awarded) suggests this is part of a broader technology adoption strategy rather than a one-off partnership.

ST. PAUL, Minn., May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ScaleReady, in collaboration with Wilson Wolf, Bio-Techne Corporation and CellReady, today announced that A2 Biotherapeutics, Inc. ("A2") has been awarded a $300,000 G-Rex® Grant.  A2's G-Rex® Grant will enable expeditious process development and qualification of a G-Rex-based production system and will enable A2 to evaluate G-Rex for manufacturing cell therapies.

"We are very impressed by the simplicity and scalability of the G-Rex platform and look forward to exploring its applications in our clinical development programs." says Dr. Agi Hamburger, Chief Operating Officer at A2. "As an early-stage company, the G-Rex Grant provides valuable resources to support the process development and comparability studies."

"We appreciate the opportunity to help A2 Biotherapeutics explore an alternative manufacturing pathway that is distinct from the 'all-in-one' bioreactor approach.  We believe a modular and flexible closed approach is necessary for cell therapy developers to set the basis for LEAN manufacturing while establishing phase appropriate production. This is the best way to generate drug product supply that is commensurate with their total patient demand," says John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Wolf and co-inventor of G-Rex.

As part of the G-Rex Grant, A2 will evaluate the G-CART process, a standardized workflow for assembling CAR-T drug product, currently in development at Cell Ready, the world's first and only G-Rex centric contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). The G-CART process is designed for high-throughput manufacturing in centralized or point of care models and will be readily adaptable to full end-to-end robotic automation for commercial scale production.  The G-CART process will make creative use of novel sub-assemblies to streamline the flow of the drug substance through the final assembly line, including the new GMP ProPak cytokines from Bio-Techne.  ProPaks are GMP grade, liquid formulated, process-sized cytokines filled in sterile-weldable bags tailormade for use with the G-Rex device.  Various interleukins, including IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15 are available in ProPak form.

A2's CAR-T cell pipeline is based on their proprietary Tmod™ platform. The Tmod platform is a dual-signal integrator system for cancer cell therapy that consists of an activating receptor and an inhibitory receptor (blocker module). It utilizes tumor loss of heterozygosity to clearly distinguish normal cells containing both the activator and blocker antigens from tumor cells expressing the activator antigen, but which have irreversibly lost the blocker antigen.  A2's current clinical pipeline consists of CAR-T cell therapies targeting various solid tumor indications including colorectal, lung, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers.

ScaleReady's G-Rex Grant Program is advancing the state of cell and gene-modified cell therapy (CGT) development and manufacturing by awarding individual Grant Awards worth up to $300,000.  With nearly 200 grant awards awarded and over 50 new applications in queue, the G-Rex Grant Program has been extended with millions of dollars in additional funding. G-Rex Grant Recipients also gain access to exclusive support from ScaleReady's growing consortium of G-Rex Grant Partners who bring best-in-class tools and technologies as well as unparalleled knowledge and expertise in the areas of cGMP manufacturing, quality and regulatory affairs, CGT business operations, and more.

For more information about the G-Rex® Grant Program, please contact info@scaleready.com.

About ScaleReady
ScaleReady provides the field of cell and gene-modified cell therapy (CGT) with a G-Rex centric manufacturing platform that enables the world's most practical, flexible, scalable, and affordable CGT drug product development and manufacturing.

The G-Rex manufacturing platform is currently used by a rapidly growing list of over 800 organizations and is producing drug products for approximately 50% of CGT clinical trials as well as 5 commercially approved CGT drugs.

CGT entities relying on the breadth and scope of ScaleReady's expertise can expect to save years of time and millions of dollars on the path to CGT commercialization.

For more information about the ScaleReady G-Rex® Grant Program, please contact info@scaleready.com.

About Wilson Wolf Manufacturing
Wilson Wolf (www.wilsonwolf.com) is dedicated to simplifying cell and gene-modified cell (CGT) therapy research, process development, and manufacturing.  This is being accomplished through its scalable G-Rex technology, which is used throughout the world in CGT applications ranging from basic research to commercial drug production.

Wilson Wolf's mission is to create hope for cancer patients, one G-Rex® device at a time.

About Bio-Techne Corporation
Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne, in partnership with Wilson Wolf, is creating products such as media and cytokines that are specifically tailored to G-Rex® Bioreactors, including right-sized reagent quantities in containers that are tailored to high throughput closed-system manufacturing. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit https://www.bio-techne.com or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.

Contact: David Clair, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development
david.clair@bio-techne.com
612-656-4416

About CellReady LLC
CellReady is the world's first and only G-Rex centric contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in G-Rex based cell and gene-modified cell therapy development and manufacturing. The company offers a wide range of services to support the development and commercialization of these therapies.

CellReady's mission is to create hope for cancer patients, one G-Rex® process at a time.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scaleready-awards-a-300-000-g-rex-grant-to-a2-biotherapeutics-inc-302435901.html

SOURCE Bio-Techne Corporation

FAQ

What is the value of the G-Rex Grant awarded to A2 Biotherapeutics?

ScaleReady awarded A2 Biotherapeutics a G-Rex Grant worth $300,000 to support process development and evaluation of G-Rex for manufacturing cell therapies.

What types of cancer does A2 Biotherapeutics' Tmod platform target?

A2 Biotherapeutics' Tmod platform targets various solid tumor indications including colorectal, lung, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers.

How many G-Rex Grants has ScaleReady awarded so far?

ScaleReady has awarded nearly 200 grant awards and has over 50 new applications in queue, with the program being extended with millions of dollars in additional funding.

What is the G-CART process that A2 Biotherapeutics will evaluate?

G-CART is a standardized workflow for assembling CAR-T drug product, designed for high-throughput manufacturing in centralized or point of care models, with capability for full end-to-end robotic automation for commercial scale production.