CaseBioscience joins ARPA-H-funded team for room-temperature cell therapy preservation
CaseBioscience is part of a team awarded up to $7.3 million by ARPA-H to develop room-temperature preservation for cell therapies. The initiative aims to reduce reliance on cold chain logistics.
FORT COLLINS, Colorado – CaseBioscience has joined a multidisciplinary team awarded up to $7.3 million by the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under its Biological Stabilization Systems (BoSS) program. The initiative focuses on developing new technologies for manufacturing, storing, and transporting cells at room temperature, eliminating the need for refrigeration.
The RAB (Reversible Ambient-Temperature Biostabilization) team, led by Likarda, is one of three selected for the BoSS program. Composed of experts in preservation science, cell biology, bioengineering, immunology, and drug development, the team aims to enable advanced biologic drugs to be "transported and stored as easily as aspirin." This would significantly reduce the complexity and cost associated with cold chain logistics.
The project, which began September 24, 2026, with an initial 15-month phase, will integrate specialized physiological mechanisms and novel cell protection strategies. By developing new methods for storing and transporting cell-based therapeutics at room temperature, the goal is to overcome logistical barriers that have limited access to these potentially life-changing treatments.
The successful development of room-temperature stable cell therapies could revolutionize the distribution of treatments for diseases such as cancer. CaseBioscience has a history in this field, with one of its research leaders pioneering early research into dry storage of sperm over two decades ago. This new project represents an opportunity to advance that work.