# Microfluidic platform for gene delivery into the T-cells

> **NIH NIH R43** · CELLFE INC. · 2020 · $284,735

## Abstract

Project Summary
Ex vivo genetic m odif ication of blood cells has proven transf orm ational in the treatm ent of hem atologic disorders,
most notably the hematologic malignancies using CAR-T or TCR-T cells. Despite considerable investment and
some clinical success, gene-modified T cell therapy manufacturing remains costly and inefficient. New delivery
technologies are needed to serve this growing market and facilitate access to T cell therapies. The mission of
CellFE is to simplify manufacturing of life-saving ex vivo gene therapies using our unique, rapid and efficient
capability to deliver gene modifying cargo to patient’s cells.
The goal of this project is to test, optimize and scale up a proprietary technology that relies on microfluidic
transfection by mechanical manipulation (“mechanotransfection”) to engineer T cells to express transgenes, and
simultaneously knock out immune receptors such as T cell receptor (TCR). While the focus of this project is
strictly on gene modification of T cells, our platform technology has the potential to impact all ex vivo gene
therapy applications, including other blood cells amenable to CAR technology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10011520
- **Project number:** 1R43HL152887-01
- **Recipient organization:** CELLFE INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Miguel CALERO-GARCIA
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $284,735
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2021-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10011520

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10011520, Microfluidic platform for gene delivery into the T-cells (1R43HL152887-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10011520. Licensed CC0.

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