STTR Phase I: Developing an optical metabolic flow cytometer to screen T cell fitness for Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell Therapy

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $304,733 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a rapid diagnostic method for identifying patients that will benefit from Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell therapy is an emerging clinical method of producing lasting remission in cancer patients by re engineering patient’s own T cells. The therapy also remains under active investigation for other emerging applications. The T cells in nearly half of cancer patients eligible for CAR T cell therapy are not sufficiently healthy to be successfully manufactured into viable and effective CAR T cells for use as intended. This leads to CAR T cell manufacturing failures for 15-69% of patients, resulting in a significant burden to the health care system with an estimated cost of $375k per patient along with increased risks to patient morbidity and severe adverse events. The system aims to be the first to correlate specific quantifiable energy measures with CAR T cell manufacturing failure risks. If successful this new screening method would provide a high throughput system capable of identifying patients at high risk for CAR T cell manufacturing failure with reduced time, labor for optimization and reagent validation than current methods. This would allow patients to pursue other clinical options sooner rather than undergoing ineffective CAR T therapy thereby enabling them to see alternative viable options sonner while reducing unn

Key facts

NSF award ID
2451768
Awardee
SELIGHT, LLC (WI)
SAM.gov UEI
HRE7VJH5NJD3
PI
Amani Gillette
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
INSTRUMENTATION & DIAGNOSTICS
Estimated total
$304,733
Funds obligated
$304,733
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
07/01/2025 → 12/31/2026