BioCurie gets $9.3M ARPA-H award for AI gene therapy manufacturing

BioCurie has been awarded up to $9.3 million in funding from Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health to develop an artificial intelligence-driven platform aimed at improving the scalability of genomic medicine manufacturing.

The company said the project will focus on building a digital platform that applies computational modeling, machine learning, and manufacturing data to optimize production processes for viral and nonviral gene therapies. According to the announcement, the system is intended to replace traditional trial-and-error process development with simulation-based approaches that can shorten development timelines and improve process consistency.

Manufacturing challenges remain a significant barrier to broader deployment of gene therapies, with developers facing high development costs, variable yields and lengthy process optimization cycles.

The ARPA-H project will be conducted in collaboration with several academic and industry partners, including Caring Cross, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Center for Breakthrough Medicines, part of SK pharmteco. The University City Science Center supported the development and coordination of the funding proposal.

According to BioCurie, the platform is designed for use by biopharmaceutical developers and manufacturing organizations seeking to reduce risk in process development and scale production more predictably. The project will validate the platform with partner organizations as a foundation for broader deployment across the cell and gene therapy sector.