Interview With Deverra Therapeutics – Colleen Delaney, MD MSc

Q: Tell me how you first got involved with Deverra Therapeutics? 

A: I am the scientific founder of Deverra. Deverra is a reflection and result of my career since I first started my lab research as a fellow in pediatric oncology. I fell in love with bone marrow transplant and the idea that one could use healthy cells to cure disease, and it all evolved from that. The platform technology that is being used at Deverra to generate universal (no matching required) allogeneic cell therapies from cord blood CD34+ cells was first developed to improve outcomes for patients without a conventional suitably HLA-matched adult unrelated donor where cord blood was being used as the donor source. This was back in the early 2000’s when time to engraftment was averaging a month and graft failure was an issue. The use of double cord blood grafts had been implemented by Dr. Barkers and Wagner in Minnesota, which helped significantly reduce the risk of graft failure but time to engraftment was still significantly delayed. I was working on methods for the ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells (CD34+ cells) and the double cord blood transplant platform was perfect to evaluate this clinically. Our first trial started in 2006, and we were the first group to show definitively that our ex vivo expanded CD34+ cells significantly shortened the time to neutrophil recovery but also could contribute to all hematopoietic cell types. From there, we moved from a patient specific approach to an non-HLA matched, cryopreserved product for post AML therapy and for CBT.  

Deverra was formed IN 2020 to further develop our technology platform beyond our expanded stem cell product, dilanubicel, to include post-expansion differentiation into immune effector cells, like NK cells and monocyte/macrophages for engineered cellular immunotherapy approaches- all from a single platform. I have been involved in the development of this technology since the beginning.  

Q: Why are you committed to advancing cord blood uses, instead of other treatment options? 

A: I don’t really see advancing the use of cord blood as something that I would do instead of other treatment options, as I believe that clinical outcomes are the most important determinant to drive the field forward. However, anyone who knows me knows that I believe that the use of cord blood as starting material for cell and gene therapy products and regen med products is the way to go! I mean, what a great story. Medical waste that can be safely collected and turned into lifesaving therapies. What could be better. Furthermore, there is a biologic advantage to the stem cells that we (Deverra) isolates from cord blood and use to generate our off the shelf universal immunotherapies. These cells are young, healthy and more proliferative on a cell per cell basis as compared to adult derived hematopoietic stem cells. Cord blood is immune privileged and has been protected against environmental exposures. And it is a sustainable source of starting material. Plus… cord blood has many other cell types of interest besides the CD34+ cells that can be used as starting material, like NK cells or Tregs or monocytes.  

Q: What do you find most challenging about working in the cord blood field? 

A: The most challenging thing about working in this field are the abundant misconceptions about cord blood when used as a source of donor stem cells for bone marrow transplant and as a starting material. It has been challenging to overcome these challenges, many of which I believe are just perceived and not real. The misconceptions that are abundant, especially in the area of cord blood transplant, may result in a patient NOT getting access to potentially life-saving therapy. To me, this is the hardest and least acceptable challenge. All patients deserve access to life saving therapy.   

Q: What regulatory changes or changes within the cord blood field do you anticipate over the next five years? 

A: My hope is that we see some changes that better allow FDA-licensed CB banks to work with CGT developers to access inventory for the generation of clinical products. Cord blood is not just for stem cell transplant, and is a beautiful source of starting material for advanced therapies (CGT, regen med, neurologic, cardiac applications). The success of these therapies is critical to demonstrate the power of cord blood and to provide investment in and sustainability of the CB banks. Without our CB banking partners, we can not move forward! 

Q: What do you do when you aren’t working? 

A: I spend as much time as I can enjoying my family and my friends, making as many fun memories as possible. My kids are both in college now, so traveling to watch my daughter row or my son act is high on my list. Taking walks with our dog, seeing movies and reading books, riding my peloton… and just stopping for a few minutes to take deep breaths. These are common activities! 

For future editions of the CBA Industry Partner Focus, we will discuss the federal government's role in advancing the field.