Sonoma Biotherapeutics receives $300K grant to advance Treg therapy manufacturing

ScaleReady, a Minneapolis-based manufacturing platform company, announced that Sonoma Biotherapeutics has been awarded a $300,000 G-Rex grant to support manufacturing process development for regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies targeting autoimmune diseases. The grant was awarded in collaboration with Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, life sciences company Bio-Techne Corporation, and contract development and manufacturing organization CellReady, according to the announcement.

Sonoma Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, will use the grant to transition from open flask-based production methods to the G-Rex platform, a closed and scalable system designed by ScaleReady to improve consistency and readiness for commercial manufacturing. Sonoma said it will apply the funding to optimize its Treg platform process and establish a modular manufacturing approach that integrates G-Rex devices and ProPak GMP Cytokines.

Grant recipients also receive early access to new technologies from Wilson Wolf, including process analytical tools, novel closed-system components, and next-generation G-Rex models. 

“Regulatory T cells represent a promising new treatment modality, and we are honored to support Sonoma Biotherapeutics’ trailblazing mission to bring these innovative therapies to patients,” John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Wolf and co-inventor of G-Rex, said in a statement.

ScaleReady said its G-Rex Grant Program has now committed more than $40 million in no-cost product awards to advance cell and gene therapy manufacturing. The company recently launched the LEAN Cell & Gene program in partnership with Hanson Wade to help biomanufacturers improve process efficiency, quality, and scalability.