KINGSTON, Ontario, Canada, and MELBOURNE, Australia — October 27, 2026

Octane Biotech Inc. and Currus Biologics announced the successful automation of the manufacturing process for CUR-001, Currus’ lead investigational CAR T-cell therapy, using Octane’s Cocoon® Platform. The technology transfer establishes a closed, automated manufacturing process designed to improve production consistency and reduce manufacturing costs as CUR-001 advances toward clinical development. The milestone follows U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of Currus’ Investigational New Drug (IND) application in September 2026. The first-in-human Phase 1 basket trial is expected to begin dosing patients in early 2027. The study will evaluate CUR-001 in patients with mesothelin-positive advanced, refractory solid tumours, an area where conventional CAR T-cell approaches have faced significant challenges. The companies reported reductions in hands-on operator time and viral vector requirements following automation, potentially addressing two important cost drivers in autologous cell therapy manufacturing.

Automated Manufacturing Supports CUR-001 Clinical Development

CUR-001 is the first clinical programme developed using Currus’ proprietary BEAT platform, which stands for Bispecific Engager of Antigen-presenting cells and T cells. The treatment combines an autologous, FLAG-tagged CAR T-cell therapy targeting mesothelin with a BEAT bispecific antibody designed to engage CAR T-cells and antigen-presenting cells simultaneously. This approach aims to activate CAR T-cells in lymphoid tissue and address the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment that can limit treatment effectiveness in solid cancers. Transferring the manufacturing process to the Cocoon® Platform is intended to reduce manual processing, minimize batch-to-batch variability and establish a reproducible production workflow. These improvements are important for patient-specific therapies, which require reliable manufacturing for each individual patient. The companies plan to use the automated process as CUR-001 progresses through Phase 1 and potentially into later-stage clinical trials.

Cocoon® Platform Reduces Manufacturing Complexity and Cost

Octane’s Cocoon® Platform is a closed, automated system designed to manufacture personalized cell therapies within a controlled bioreactor environment. According to the companies, moving CUR-001 onto the platform significantly reduced the amount of hands-on operator time and viral vector required for each manufacturing batch. These changes could help lower production costs while improving process consistency and supporting future scale-up. Manufacturing for the Phase 1 trial will take place at the Melbourne facility of Cell Therapies Pty Ltd (CTPL), an Australian contract development and manufacturing organisation specializing in cell and gene therapies. Technology transfer has already been completed at the facility, establishing operational readiness for clinical manufacturing. CTPL will contribute its experience in good manufacturing practice (GMP) production of autologous CAR T-cell therapies and its established cell therapy manufacturing infrastructure to support the programme.

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Phase 1 Trial Preparation and Future Development

Currus and Octane will continue collaborating to support CUR-001 through clinical development, with the first patient dosing expected in early 2027. The planned open-label Phase 1 basket trial will assess the investigational therapy in patients with mesothelin-positive advanced, refractory solid tumours. Currus aims to use its BEAT platform to address limitations associated with CAR T-cell treatment in solid tumours, including T-cell exhaustion, restricted proliferation and persistence, and the suppressive tumour microenvironment. However, the potential clinical benefits of CUR-001 remain to be established through human studies. The successful manufacturing transfer represents an operational milestone rather than evidence of clinical efficacy. Continued evaluation will determine the therapy’s safety, tolerability and potential therapeutic activity, while the automated manufacturing process is intended to provide a consistent foundation for the programme’s clinical requirements.

Source:Octane Biotecha,Press release