The agreement with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. is for an existing 85,000-square-foot cell therapy manufacturing facility in the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center in Rockville. TCR2 will build out the facility at 9500 Medical Center Drive, which will help accelerate TCR2’s commercial-scale manufacturing timelines with production anticipated in 2023.
To assist with project costs related to the expansion, the Maryland Department of Commerce has approved an $875,000 conditional loan contingent on job creation and capital investment. Montgomery County has approved a $100,000 Economic Development Fund conditional grant contingent on job creation and capital investment. The company is eligible for several tax credits, including the Job Creation Tax Credit, More Jobs for Marylanders and the County’s New Jobs Tax Credit.
TCR2 utilizes its proprietary TCR Fusion Construct T cells (TRuC®-T cells) to specifically recognize and kill cancer cells. The treatment can be personalized for each patient.
“TCR2 Therapeutics’ cancer-fighting products make them one of the most promising cell therapy companies in the life sciences industry," said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. "We realize that this company explored options in other leading life science markets, and are delighted that they have decided to bring 175 new jobs to a new state-of the-art manufacturing space in Montgomery County— just miles from the National Cancer Institute.”
The company’s lead TRuC-T cell product candidate targeting solid tumors, gavo-cel, is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat patients with mesothelin-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ovarian cancer, malignant pleural/peritoneal mesothelioma and bile duct cancer. Another product candidate, TC-110, is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat patients with CD19-positive adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (aALL) and with aggressive or indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
“After observing the consistent early clinical benefit and manageable safety profile experienced by patients treated with gavo-cel, we committed to securing a dedicated U.S. manufacturing facility as the first step in building a regional network to supply cancer patients with our therapies,” said Garry Menzel, president and chief executive officer of TCR2 Therapeutics. “Leasing an existing manufacturing footprint is a substantial milestone for TCR2, saving us valuable time and capital so that we can be ready for commercial production in 2023. Our new state-of-the-art facility will allow us to directly leverage our cell therapy process development expertise and control our end-to-end production supply chain. We are very pleased to be building a world-class cell therapy production facility for gavo-cel that will bring new hope to cancer patients suffering from solid tumors.”
The facility will provide space for commercial and clinical manufacturing, quality control laboratories and offices upon completion.
“In choosing Montgomery County, TCR2 found the perfect location to quickly build their advanced manufacturing facility and accelerate the development time of their personalized cancer therapies,” said Benjamin H. Wu, president and CEO of Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. "The company’s arrival and long-term commitment truly add to Montgomery County's stature as the Immunology Capital next to the Nation's Capital."