GRIT Bio's proprietary OptiDiff^® platform is designed to first generate large quantities of mature, potent T cells through feeder-free ex vivo hematopoietic stem cell differentiation followed by efficient T cell expansion. The platform produces therapeutic-grade, potent allogeneic TCR-T or CAR-T cells suitable for off-the-shelf cell therapy. It can be expanded to conventional T cells and other non-conventional T cells, making OptiDiff^® a powerful engine for developing a wide range of innovative off-the-shelf cell therapy products.

In a typical OptiDiff^® application, human umbilical cord blood-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells are genetically modified through lentiviral transduction and/or CRISPR-based gene editing to introduce a TCR, CAR and/or optional modulatory elements. Following a proprietary and streamlined five-week ex vivo culture process, these modified stem cells differentiate into CAR-iNKT cells suitable for allogeneic use. The platform is robust, highly reproducible and strictly controlled throughout the entire process, generating approximately 10¹²–10¹³ cells from an initial input of 10⁶ cord blood stem cells. Thousands of clinical doses can be manufactured in a single batch. The harvested iNKT cells are highly pure and can be directly cryopreserved as therapeutic cell products. For CAR-iNKT manufacturing, the cells produced by the platform contain no conventional T cells, thereby largely minimizing risks of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD).