BioOra Limited

Together, the Malaghan Institute and BioOra Limited represent a partnership designed to take science from benchtop to bedside - combining clinical innovation, manufacturing scale-up and commercial delivery to ensure world-class research translates into real-world impact.

Automated manufacturing of CAR T-cells using a Cocoon. Photo credit: LONZA

BioOra Limited was formed in 2021 as a partnership between the Malaghan Institute and deep tech incubator Bridgewest Ventures NZ, with funding from Callaghan Innovation. Established as a spin-out company, BioOra's purpose is to automate and scale the manufacture of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in New Zealand, introducing efficiency, scalability and cost savings to this groundbreaking treatment.

Incubated at the Malaghan, BioOra is building high-value manufacturing capability to support the delivery of advanced cell therapies. The company aims to scale up to provide third-party manufacturing, attract first-in-class therapies to New Zealand, and significantly reduce the cost of CAR T-cell therapy.

BioOra has been collaborating with the Malaghan in the clinical development of our novel third-generation anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy (WZTL-002) for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Together, we are progressing this therapy through a phase 2 registration trial - ENABLE-2 - while putting in place the manufacturing, distribution and health service integration required to establish it as a standard of care if successful.

Both organisations share the goal of making CAT T-cell therapy affordable and accessible in New Zealand.

Commercial partnership for public benefit

Commercial vehicles and partnerships like BioOra are critical to taking our treatments beyond the research environment and into the health system. While the Malaghan is a charitable research institute, delivering safe, reliable and cost-effective therapies at scale requires specialised manufacturing capability and commercial infrastructure.

The Malaghan controls the rights to its third-generation anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy in New Zealand and Australia. We have granted BioOra access to this intellectual property to enable commercial delivery if the therapy is successfully registered. This agreement includes a commitment to affordability for the New Zealand health system.

Any revenues generated through successful commercialisation would go to BioOra, with a share returned to the Malaghan. Those funds would be reinvested into further research and development, helping create the next generation of immune-based treatments.