Bluebird and Gritstone team up on oncology cell therapy

Gene therapy specialist Bluebird Bio and immunotherapy drug development firm Gritstone Oncology have agreed to collaborate on research, development, and commercialization of cell therapy treatments for cancer. Gritstone, based in Emeryville, Calif., will use its artificial intelligence tumor-analysis platform to identify tumor-specific targets and natural T-cell receptors, to which Bluebird will apply its cell therapy approach. Bluebird, based in Cambridge, Mass., will conduct all development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities, while Gritstone will apply its technology to support patient selection for clinical development of therapies.