Matica Biotechnology, a United States contract development and manufacturing organization under Korea’s Cha Biotech, said Monday that it had signed a partnership with California-based Calidi Biotherapeutics for a commercialization project in the US.
Matica Bio will support Calidi’s application to the US Food and Drug Administration for clinical testing of its CLD-401, a tumor-tropic oncolytic virus, by offering analytical development, process development and Good Manufacturing Practices production for the drug.
Calidi, which was founded in 2014 and debuted on the NYSE American stock exchange in 2023, focuses on developing stem cell-based and viral immunotherapies for cancer treatment.
“Matica Bio has become a sought-after partner especially in the oncolytic virus space because of our technical expertise, regulatory readiness and track record of delivering seamless development-to-GMP manufacturing programs,” said Matica Bio CEO Paul Kim.
“We’re excited to work with Calidi on this breakthrough program and continue advancing next-gen cancer immunotherapies.”
Having opened its cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing facility in College Station, Texas, in 2022 as the sole Korean firm to do so, Matica Bio has scored 10 billion won ($7 million) in orders in the first half of this year and expects the figure to surpass 20 billion won by the end of the year.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
