Trenchant BioSystems and Invetech Group complete strategic alliance formation to develop fully automated CGT manufacturing solution

Alliance focused on the development of a fully automated CGT manufacturing solution designed to materially reduce cost by up to 80% and manufacturing time by up to 95%

San Diego, California, US, March 12, 2026

Trenchant BioSystems Inc., the CGT manufacturing platform developer for gene-modified cells, and Invetech, a global leader in solving complex manufacturing and product development challenges in the advanced therapies and diagnostics markets, announce that they have entered into a strategic alliance, The alliance will collaborate on the continued development of Trenchant’s fully automated AutoCell Platform, intended for future commercialization.

Testing data previously announced in January 2026 demonstrate that Trenchant’s AutoCell platform has shown the potential to support manufacturing workflows that could reduce or eliminate certain exvivo expansion steps. Essentially, the data supports that Trenchant’s fully automated CGT manufacturing solution could materially reduce cell and gene therapy manufacturing costs by up to 80% and the time of manufacturing by up to 95%. In addition, the data demonstrates that T-cells could be sourced from a single unit of whole blood drawn from the patient. The completion of the final stages of development of the AutoCell product will aim to implement full automation of the end-to-end CGT manufacturing process at the point of care.

Under the alliance, Invetech is expected to provide engineering, development, and manufacturing support services. To achieve this, Invetech will utilize its decades of experience in cell and gene therapy, including in-house development and manufacturing. This includes an over 20-year track record of working with tool providers and therapy manufacturers, from early-stage companies and CDMOs to big pharma organizations.

Trenchant currently plans a first phase launch of an early access platform for select partners in early 2027, with full commercial release later in 2027.

“Current cell and gene therapy manufacturing practices are too time consuming and costly to be scalable to serve large-scale patient populations. Trenchant BioSystems has now released internal and independent data that confirms that its AutoCell product holds the solution to these challenges,” said Jon Ellis, CEO, Trenchant BioSystems. “The alliance will allow Trenchant to leverage Invetech’s expertise to take this prototype solution and release a commercial product in 2027.”

“Trenchant’s AutoCell platform has the potential to help address persistent manufacturing challenges in the CGT industry and, over time, support broader patient access to advanced therapies. Both parties are now focused on bringing this breakthrough platform to the CGT market and deliver a solution that will transform the sector,” said Andreas Knaack, CEO, Invetech. “Trenchant’s AutoCell has the potential to realize the dream of distributed (Point-of-Care) manufacturing, with the additional benefits of significantly reduced COGs, thus enabling accessibility and affordability of treatment for essentially every patient in treatment centers anywhere around the world.”

About Trenchant BioSystems

Trenchant BioSystems is a leading disruptive firm reimagining cell and gene therapy manufacturing to be scalable, efficient, rapid and affordable through the development of truly end to end manufacturing platforms. Trenchant has developed a manufacturing modality that has the potential to reduce the production times for CAR-Ts to 2.5 days. Its manufacturing processes also may reduce CAR-T manufacturing cost significantly. Trenchant was launched in 2022, and is based in San Diego, CA, US. It was founded by chairman and CTO Philip Coelho, CEO Jon Ellis, and Bill Busa, PhD. To discover more about Trenchant, visit https://www.trenchantbio.com.

About Invetech

Invetech is your trusted partner in solving complex End-to-End manufacturing and product development challenges in the global advanced therapies market. For more than three decades, we've partnered with leaders in diagnostics, life sciences, and cell therapy to co-create breakthrough solutions that transform ideas into market-ready technologies and therapies. Whether transitioning from early process development to commercial-scale manufacturing or optimizing complex workflows, our team combines scientific insight, engineering excellence and proven technology platforms to deliver tailored solutions. Our proven modules, technology platforms and custom automation solutions integrate seamlessly with your processes, reducing time to market, and supporting scalable, GMP-compliant manufacturing. Together with our clients, we're advancing healthcare. To learn more about Invetech Group, visit https://www.invetechgroup.com/

ForwardLooking Statements

This press release contains forwardlooking statements, including statements regarding development objectives, anticipated performance characteristics, manufacturing timelines, and potential commercialization plans. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Forwardlooking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and neither company undertakes any obligation to update them.

For more information contact:

Neil Hunter
Hunter PR
neil@hunterpr.biz
+44 7821 255568