• The additions enhance Cell Q’s capabilities to scale high-throughput sample prep, liquid-handling verification, COI/COC preservation, full-spectrum flow cytometry, and synthetic controls in Cell Q.
• The first performance data from the Cell Q, an automated QC platform purpose-built to match the throughput of the Cell Shuttle™, will be presented at the 10th CAR-TCR Summit on September 25, 2025.

South San Francisco, CA, USA September 17, 2025 – Cellares, the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), announces multiple strategic technology partnerships to advance the Cell Q™, the first fully automated quality control testing platform purpose-built to match the commercial-scale throughput for cell therapy manufacturing. Cellares is unveiling these partnerships ahead of the 10th Annual CAR-TCR Summit, where it will, for the first time, present drug product release data automatically generated on the Cell Q and case studies highlighting the automation of system verification, thawing, assay preparation, and execution of vector copy number (VCN) quantification.

Cell Q is the first of its kind: a modular, highly configurable QC platform that automates and streamlines labor-intensive, error-prone in-process and release assays. While traditional manual QC infrastructure will struggle to keep pace, a single Cell Q system can support automated QC release testing of up to 6,000 cell therapy batches per year, unlocking true end-to-end scalability. Elevated by close collaborations with leading technology providers like Tecan, Advanced Instruments®, Cytek Biosciences, Slingshot Biosciences, and AltemisLab, Cell Q streamlines all critical QC testing operations, from high-throughput sample preparation to real-time data tracking and reporting, at a fraction of the cost and operational burden of traditional approaches.

A New Standard for QC Automation, Enhanced by Strategic Partners

Recognizing the changing demands for QC testing, Cellares drove product development and integration of best-in-class technology providers across five key domains – liquid handling, liquid property characterization, flow cytometry, synthetic controls, and sample tracking – to co-develop specialized hardware, software, and reagents designed to integrate seamlessly into the Cell Q platform.

• Tecan: Delivered advanced liquid handling systems and hardware-software interfaces to enable scalable, reproducible workflows and results.
• Advanced Instruments: Integrated and automated verification of liquid handling, performance, and calibration with its Artel® portfolio.
• Cytek Biosciences: Optimized fully automated full spectrum flow cytometry workflows, from plate mapping through takedown.
• Slingshot Biosciences: Developed cell mimics and ready-to-use flow cytometry panels that enable reproducible results across sites, operators, and instruments.
• AltemisLab: Integrated pre-barcoded cryovials, tube decapping, and automated thawing to preserve Chain of Identity (COI) and Chain of Custody (COC) across the QC lifecycle.

Raising the Bar for Compliance, Scale, and Speed

As regulators raise expectations for data integrity, method validation, and lifecycle management, Cell Q provides a ready-made infrastructure to support GMP compliance, digital traceability, and audit-readiness from day one. For early-stage developers, this de-risks tech transfer and accelerates IND timelines. For commercial developers, it reduces labor dependency and batch failure risk while enabling global scale-up without compromising quality.

“Cell Q was built to match the commercial manufacturing throughput of the Cell Shuttle,” said Fabian Gerlinghaus, CEO and Co-Founder of Cellares. “with fewer handoffs, less failure, and more importantly, better data quality.”

At the upcoming 10th Annual CAR-TCR Summit, John Cesarek, Cellares’ Senior Director of Automation, will present “From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs: Automating Commercial-Scale QC Testing with Cell Q” on Thursday, September 25 at 2:15 PM ET. He will highlight how Cell Q integrates high-throughput sample preparation and real-time data reporting, while cutting cost and operational burden compared to traditional manual methods.

Connect with our team at bd@cellares.com to learn more about Cell Q and how it can eliminate QC bottlenecks while meeting the most stringent global regulatory requirements.

About Cellares

Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) and takes an Industry 4.0 approach to mass manufacturing the living drugs of the 21st century. The company is developing and operating integrated technologies for cell therapy manufacturing to accelerate access to life-saving cell therapies. The company’s Cell Shuttle™ integrates all the technologies required for the entire manufacturing process in a flexible and high-throughput platform that delivers end-to-end automation. While the Cell Shuttle automates cell therapy manufacturing, the Cell Q™ automates quality control at high throughput, both for in-process and release QC. Cell Shuttles™ and Cell Qs™ will be deployed in Cellares’ Smart Factories around the world, enabling each Smart Factory to produce 10 times as many cell therapy batches as a conventional CDMO with the same facility size and headcount. Partnering with Cellares enables academic medical centers, biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate cell therapy development and scale out manufacturing, lower process failure rates, lower manufacturing costs, and meet global patient demand.
The company is headquartered in South San Francisco, California with its first commercial-scale IDMO Smart Factory in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Cellares is building a global network of IDMO Smart Factories, with additional facilities under construction in Europe and Japan. The company is backed by world-class investors and has raised over $355 million in financing.

For more information about Cellares, please visit cellares.com.
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