Catalent, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has joined Ori Biotech’s Preferred Partner Network with Catalent’s Princeton, New Jersey facility designated as a Center of Excellence for Ori’s IRO automated cell therapy manufacturing platform.

The collaboration will give Catalent preferred access to Ori’s IRO platform for autologous cell therapy process development and GMP manufacturing. Catalent supports cell therapy programs from process development through clinical and commercial supply, including autologous and allogeneic therapies, according to the company.

Ori’s IRO platform combines automated hardware, consumables, software, and data analytics in a closed system designed to reduce manual interventions during cell therapy manufacturing. The platform received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) designation in 2025.

Ori said the platform is designed to increase throughput, reduce cost of goods, and shorten development timelines, while supporting both development and GMP manufacturing on the same system. The company also said IRO can integrate with upstream and downstream technologies to create a closed manufacturing workflow.

The partnership follows Ori’s September agreement with an undisclosed biopharmaceutical company to evaluate IRO for commercial manufacturing of an approved autologous cell therapy. The 10-year collaboration is valued at up to $120 million in services, milestones, equipment, and consumable purchases and is intended to demonstrate comparability between IRO and the existing commercial manufacturing process.

Catalent’s addition to the network comes as the CDMO invests in biologics and other manufacturing capabilities following a debt refinancing completed earlier this year. The company said in September that its increased financial flexibility would support investments in areas including biologics manufacturing and other high-demand capabilities.

The Preferred Partner Network is intended to connect therapy developers with CDMOs and other service providers that can support deployment of Ori’s manufacturing technology in the United States and internationally.