LONDON, Nov. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, today announces the handover of the first of three clean rooms forming the basis of its new commercial manufacturing facility in Stevenage, UK. This anchor facility has been named ‘The Nucleus’, chosen from Autolus staff suggestions.

The Nucleus facility is part of a larger plan to create a life sciences district in the heart of Stevenage town center by developers, Reef Group. The site has been created via a joint venture between UBS Asset Management and Reef Group to invest up to £120 million to redevelop Stevenage town center, working with key stakeholders including Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Stevenage Borough Council. The new quarter will aim to house the largest cluster of Cell and Gene Therapy companies outside the United States. The build for The Nucleus has been completed for Autolus by design and construction specialists, Merit.

“The Phase 1 completion of The Nucleus facility is a major milestone for Autolus, as well as for the town of Stevenage,” said Dave Brochu, Chief Technical Officer of Autolus. “The entire project team, including Autolus, Merit, and Reef Group have successfully kept this project on track despite challenging timelines, the COVID pandemic, and supply chain constraints. These efforts have enabled us to transition seamlessly into the next phase of growth for Autolus.”

“Reef Group is incredibly proud to have led a truly innovative collaboration between Autolus, Merit and our funding partners, UBS, where many industry ‘firsts’ were achieved,” said Piers Slater, Chief Executive Officer of Reef Group. “The ‘can do’ attitude from all the partners, in no small part inspired and driven by the Autolus Executive Team and facilitated by the unique Reef Merit approach to volumetric build, was instrumental in the delivery of a project that we believe sets a new benchmark for the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) industry.”

“To deliver this important milestone after only 17.5 months from start of design and planning and with only 12.5 months on-site is a fantastic achievement for the whole team. Merit is proud to have played a part in it,” said Tony Wells, Chief Executive Officer of Merit. “The Autolus Executive Management team provided clear directions and set challenging targets for quality and delivery schedule, which have driven innovation throughout the project. It has been a fun, collaborative and exciting opportunity for everyone involved at Merit.”

About Autolus Therapeutics plc
Autolus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation, programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. Using a broad suite of proprietary and modular T cell programming technologies, Autolus is engineering precisely targeted, controlled and highly active T cell therapies that are designed to better recognize cancer cells, break down their defense mechanisms and eliminate these cells. Autolus has a pipeline of product candidates in development for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For more information, please visit www.autolus.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," and "believes." These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the further development of Autolus’ commercial manufacturing strategy. Any forward-looking statements are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks that Autolus’ preclinical or clinical programs do not advance or result in approved products on a timely or cost effective basis or at all; the results of early clinical trials are not always being predictive of future results; the cost, timing and results of clinical trials; that many product candidates do not become approved drugs on a timely or cost effective basis or at all; the ability to enroll patients in clinical trials; possible safety and efficacy concerns; and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on Autolus’ business. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause Autolus’ actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section titled "Risk Factors" in Autolus' Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2022, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in Autolus' subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Autolus undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact:

Olivia Manser
+44 (0) 7780 471568
o.manser@autolus.com

Julia Wilson
+44 (0) 7818 430877
j.wilson@autolus.com

Susan A. Noonan
S.A. Noonan Communications
+1-917-513-5303
susan@sanoonan.com