KINGSTON, Ontario and MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Octane Biotech Inc. (“Octane”) and Currus Biologics (“Currus”), an Australian biotech developing the BEAT, a proprietary, universal, bispecific antibody platform to unlock CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumours, today announces that they have successfully automated the manufacturing process for CUR-001, Currus’ lead clinical candidate, on Octane’s Cocoon® Platform. The transfer establishes a reliable, closed manufacturing process intended to support the consistent production of CUR-001 as it prepares to enter clinical development.
This milestone follows the clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Currus’ Investigational New Drug (IND) application for CUR-001, announced in September 2026. The clearance allows Currus to begin a first-in-human, open-label Phase 1 basket trial in patients with mesothelin-positive advanced refractory solid tumours. The first patient is expected to be dosed in early 2027.
CUR-001 is the first clinical programme from Currus’ BEAT (Bispecific Engager of Antigen-presenting cells and T cells) platform. It combines an autologous, FLAG-tagged CAR T-cell therapy targeting mesothelin with a BEAT bispecific antibody. The BEAT simultaneously engages the CAR T-cells and antigen-presenting cells, a design intended to activate CAR T-cells in lymphoid tissue and counter the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment that has limited CAR T-cell therapy in solid tumours.
The two companies transferred the CUR-001 manufacturing process onto the Cocoon Platform, Octane’s closed, automated system for producing patient-specific cell therapies. Moving to the Cocoon significantly reduced hands-on operator time and the amount of viral vector each batch requires, two of the main cost drivers in autologous CAR T-cell manufacturing. The result is a much lower-cost process for CUR-001 that will support the programme as it advances through clinical development.
“Getting IND clearance was a significant step forward. Ensuring we can make CUR-001 reliably, patient after patient, is now our focus,” said Sam Cobb, Chief Executive Officer of Currus Biologics. “The success of an autologous therapy depends heavily on the process behind it. Moving CUR-001 onto the Cocoon gives us a consistent, closed process as we head into the clinic, and a manufacturing model that can grow with the programme.”
“Currus has a smart answer to one of the hardest problems in cell therapy, which is getting CAR T-cells to work in solid tumours,” said Louis Briggs, Vice President, Octane Biotech. “Automating CUR-001 on the Cocoon means fewer manual steps, less variability between batches and a process built to scale from Phase 1 onward. We’re proud to support Currus as CUR-001 moves toward its first patients.”
Octane and Currus will continue to work together as CUR-001 moves through clinical development, from Phase 1 into later-stage trials. The collaboration is intended to support the clinical development of CUR-001, establish a reproducible manufacturing process that can meet the programme’s future requirements, and ultimately provide a new CAR T-cell option to patients with hard-to-treat solid tumours.
For the Phase 1 trial, CUR-001 will be manufactured on the Cocoon® Platform at the Melbourne facility of Cell Therapies Pty Ltd (CTPL), Australia’s leading contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for cell and gene therapies. Technology transfer of the automated manufacturing process has already been successfully completed at the facility, establishing operational readiness to support the clinical manufacturing for this study. The programme will draw on CTPL’s experience in the GMP manufacture of autologous CAR T-cell therapies and its established cell therapy manufacturing capabilities.
About Currus Biologics
Currus Biologics is an Australian biotechnology company developing the BEAT, a proprietary bispecific antibody platform designed to make CAR T-cell therapy effective in solid tumours. The BEAT engages antigen-presenting cells and CAR T-cells at the same time to address the main barriers to CAR T-cell efficacy, including T-cell exhaustion, limited proliferation and persistence, a suppressive tumour microenvironment and limited epitope spreading. The platform is designed to work with any CAR T format or tumour target. Currus’ lead programme, CUR-001, has received FDA IND clearance for a Phase 1 trial in mesothelin-positive advanced refractory solid tumours. Currus is backed by Brandon Capital, Main Sequence Ventures and Uniseed. For more information, visit www.currusbio.com.
About Octane Biotech
Octane Biotech Inc. builds scalable manufacturing solutions for advanced cell and gene therapies. Its Cocoon® Platform is an automated, closed system for producing personalized cell therapies in a precisely controlled bioreactor, designed to reduce manual processing, batch-to-batch variability and cleanroom footprint. Octane Biotech is part of the Octane Medical Group, a global group of companies developing bioprocesses, biomaterials and bioreactors for advanced therapies with the goal of making advanced therapies the standard of care. Octane is headquartered in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, with locations in the United States and Europe. For more information, visit www.octane.bio.
About Cell Therapies
Cell Therapies Pty Ltd is Australia's leading contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) dedicated to cell and gene therapies. Based in Melbourne, Cell Therapies has more than two decades of experience translating innovative research into clinical and commercial therapeutic products, supporting biotechnology companies, academic institutions and healthcare providers across Australia and internationally. Through its state-of-the-art GMP facilities and experienced team, Cell Therapies is committed to accelerating the development of life-changing therapies and improving patient outcomes by enabling world-class cell and gene therapy manufacturing. For more information, visit www.celltherapies.com.au.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the timing and design of the CUR-001 Phase 1 trial, the expected timing of first patient dosing, and the use and scalability of the automated CUR-001 manufacturing process. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, including those related to clinical development, regulatory review, manufacturing and financing. Actual results may differ materially. Neither company undertakes any obligation to update these statements except as required by law.
Media Contacts
Octane Biotech
Chris Miranda, Business Development, Octane Medical Group
chris.miranda@octane.bio
Currus Biologics
Sam Cobb, Chief Executive Officer
sam@currusbio.com
Optimum Strategic Communications
Mary Clark, Isabelle Abdou, Henry Williams
currusbio@optimumcomms.com
