Cellistic, the cell therapy development and manufacturing business of Ncardia, and Celyad Oncology, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced a transaction whereby Cellistic will acquire Celyad Oncology’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) grade cell therapy manufacturing capability, including the existing facility and all related personnel (the “Manufacturing Business Unit”).

Under the terms of an asset purchase agreement between Celyad Oncology and Cellistic, Cellistic agreed to acquire Celyad Oncology’s Manufacturing Business Unit in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, for a total consideration of €6 million. Celyad Oncology’s experienced manufacturing team will join Cellistic. The transaction is subject to several customary conditions and is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Cellistic will invest substantial capital into the newly acquired 11,000- square foot facility, which will be optimized for its iPSC-based allogeneic cell therapy platforms and processes creating the world’s first purpose-built facility to support customers from cell reprogramming and master cell banking through clinical trial material manufacturing. A team of more than 30 manufacturing, quality and related personnel from Celyad Oncology, all with substantial cell therapy manufacturing and immune-oncology experience, will join Cellistic as part of this transaction.

Celyad Oncology will provide additional guidance on the future business strategy of the Company in the fourth quarter of this year.

Launched in April 2022 as a subsidiary of Ncardia, Cellistic specialises in the process development and manufacture of cell therapies based on human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. 

Ncardia is a human iPSC technology company that operates worldwide with facilities, offices, and staff throughout Europe and North America. 

Celyad Oncology is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapies for cancer.