MiNK Therapeutics announced on September 30, 2026, that its clinical-stage agenT-797 invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell platform has been selected as a therapeutic cell system within an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)-funded team working to enable living cell therapies to be stored and transported at room temperature.
The collaboration is part of ARPA-H’s BioStabilization Systems (BoSS) program, a four-year initiative with a funding commitment of up to $87 million across the overall program. Its goal is to move cell-based medicines from cryogenic storage near −196°C toward room-temperature storage near 21°C, reducing the infrastructure needed to deliver these treatments.
Addressing the Cold-Chain Barrier in Cell Therapy
Cell therapies introduce a logistical challenge: the treatment itself contains living cells whose viability and biological function must be maintained during storage, transportation, and preparation for administration.
For cryopreserved products, these requirements can limit delivery to facilities with specialized equipment and handling capabilities. Developing reliable room-temperature preservation could make distribution more practical and extend access to hospitals and communities with limited cold-chain infrastructure.
Jennifer Buell, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of MiNK Therapeutics, said:
“Cold-chain logistics remain one of the most significant barriers to scaling access to allogeneic cell therapies.”
Buell also pointed to the company’s experience delivering agenT-797 in its randomized Phase 2 acute lung injury trial, including to mechanically ventilated patients in an active conflict zone.
Describing the potential implications of the research, she said:
“Removing the cold chain could take that deployability to a new level: a living immune therapy stocked like a conventional drug and administered wherever critically ill patients present, including remote, resource-limited, and austere settings.”
MiNK Joins Draper-Led Biostabilization Team
MiNK is a member of the Reversible Ambient Biostabilization (RAB) team, led by The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. Other participants include Likarda, CPSI Biotech, OFC Life Sciences, Case BioSciences, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Fresenius Kabi.
The team will use artificial intelligence-assisted experimental design to optimize preservation formulations, parameters for inducing a low-activity cellular state, hydrogel composition, and recovery media. Its approach also includes freeze-assisted droplet drying to develop a stable product.
MiNK will contribute its clinical-stage allogeneic iNKT platform, proprietary current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing infrastructure, cell-therapy development expertise, and production requirements to the development and evaluation of these technologies.
Preserving Cell Function Beyond Viability
For agenT-797, successful stabilization will require preserving the cells’ immune activity alongside their survival.
Nils Rudqvist, PhD, Senior Director, Research at MiNK Therapeutics, said:
“iNKT cells are a rigorous benchmark for stabilization because their value lies in rapid, coordinated function: they activate within hours and orchestrate both innate and adaptive immunity, so any approach must preserve that full functional program, not just viability.”
Rudqvist also highlighted the platform’s potential manufacturing advantages:
“And because iNKT cells do not require human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching, one manufacturing run can supply many patients.”
Combining this manufacturing model with effective room-temperature preservation could broaden the settings in which cell therapies can be delivered.
What Is agenT-797?
agenT-797 is an investigational, allogeneic, off-the-shelf iNKT cell therapy designed to engage both innate and adaptive immunity. It is currently a cryopreserved product in clinical development for solid tumors, graft-versus-host disease, and severe pulmonary immune failure.
The platform uses donor-derived iNKT cells, supporting a manufacturing approach in which a single production run can supply multiple patients. Its selection for the RAB team provides a clinically relevant system for evaluating whether stabilization technologies can preserve the properties needed for therapeutic use.
A Research Step Toward More Accessible Living Medicines
The announcement marks agenT-797’s selection for preservation research; it does not establish that the therapy can already be stored or transported at room temperature.
Across BoSS, teams will face progressively demanding assessments of cell viability, production speed, and shelf-life stability. An independent verification and validation partner, the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), will assess preserved-cell viability and function and evaluate preservation-system design.
For oncology, the initiative addresses a practical question alongside therapeutic development: how to bring living medicines to more patients while maintaining the biological function on which those treatments depend.
Read further on OncoDaily: MiNK Therapeutics and First Lviv TMU Initiate Phase 2 Trial of agenT-797 in Acute Lung Injury and Critical Illness
