Cellino Biotech, which was founded in 2017, won a federal grant worth up to $25 million to continue to develop its advanced biomanufacturing technology.
Dubbed NEBULA, the system aims to scale the production of personalized regenerative cells, which are induced pluripotent stem cells that can be reprogrammed from a patient's skin or blood cells to resemble embryonic stem cells.
The tech could be used at hospitals to develop treatments for a range of chronic conditions, the company said in a Sept. 10 press release.
The grant funding comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“We are actively building the industry-leading AI-driven biomanufacturing technology that personalizes cells, tissues, and organs for all, revolutionizing the treatment landscape for humanity’s most burdensome diseases,” Nabiha Saklayen, Cellino’s co-founder and chief executive, said in the release. “This support from ARPA-H will enable us to accelerate our innovation pace to bring potentially curative cell therapies to patients across the nation and beyond.”
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s tech automates traditionally manual processes by using an AI-guided, laser-based system to reduce variability and increase the consistency of biomanufactured cell and tissue products, according to the release.
In January of 2022, Cellino hauled in $80 million in series A financing, with the round being led by Bayer's investment arm. Just the year before, the company attracted $16 million in financing.