Instil Bio announces closure of UK manufacturing, clinical operations

Instil Bio announced a strategic update. Instil has entered into an agreement with a collaborator that has a successful track record of manufacturing and dosing patients with cell therapies to conduct preclinical manufacturing feasibility studies in the ITIL-306 program. The feasibility studies have been initiated, and if the feasibility studies are successful, Instil’s collaborator may open an investigator-initiated clinical trial to enroll patients with non-small cell lung cancer in China. In the event the IIT generates compelling proof-of-concept clinical data in 2024, Instil may explore options for a potential transition of ITIL-306 to a US-based CDMO for manufacturing and clinical development primarily at US clinical trial sites. With the objective of saving costs and improving time efficiency, the Company is announcing the closure of its UK manufacturing and clinical operations, thereby reducing its UK workforce which is expected to be substantially completed by the first half of 2024. Instil plans to retain key process development, research, and related personnel to advance early-stage pipeline development of CoStAR and other novel TIL technologies, and to support the company’s collaboration.