Aurion Biotech Announces Strategic Investments in Manufacturing

Aurion Biotech announced it has appointed Tim Largen as vice president of manufacturing. Mr. Largen is based in Seattle and will lead strategy and development of Aurion Biotech’s global cell manufacturing capabilities. His role will include managing Aurion Biotech’s internal team and as a division of CorneaGen working with external teams at Cognate BioServices; S-RACMO, a joint venture of Sumitomo Chemical Company and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Company, to help support cell production in the United States and Japan, respectively.

“The manufacture of our cells is core to Aurion Biotech’s strategy, and is integral to our success,” said Greg Kunst, chief executive officer of Aurion Biotech. “Since cell therapy is an emerging field, cell production experience is rare. By selecting S-RACMO and Cognate, and by bringing on Tim Largen to lead these teams, I am confident that we have assembled best-in-class resources to further differentiate our cell manufacturing capabilities.”

Aurion Biotech’s first candidate is a cell therapy for the treatment of corneal endothelial dysfunction, invented by ophthalmic surgeon and research scientist Professor Shigeru Kinoshita and his colleagues at Kyoto Prefecture University of Medicine (KPUM) in Japan. Aurion Biotech’s parent company acquired this technology in 2020; Aurion Biotech is preparing to submit an NDA for market approval in Japan, and an IND for clinical trials in the U.S.

Tim Largen brings to Aurion Biotech more than 20 years of experience helping companies move from clinical development into commercial production in gene and cell therapies. He joins Aurion Biotech from Lykan Bioscience, a start-up contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) where he led manufacturing sciences and technologies supporting a diverse client base. 

“I’m excited to dedicate my efforts to such a transformational treatment for patients suffering from corneal blindness,” said Mr. Largen. “The culture and team at Aurion Biotech are top notch, and I look forward to working with colleagues and collaborators to improve patients’ lives.”