New Delhi: The Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, has extended financial assistance to East Ocyon Bio Private Limited, Gurgaon, for its project titled “CAR-NK based Cell Therapy Development and Clinical Trials for Difficult-to-treat Tumors and Leishmaniasis.”
The support to East Ocyon Bio aims to establish a first-in-India, platform-based ecosystem for off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapies targeting resistant solid tumors and neglected infectious diseases, strengthening India’s capabilities in advanced immunotherapy and biotherapeutics manufacturing.
The financial assistance has been granted by the Technology Development Board (TDB) under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, to accelerate the development and clinical translation efforts of East Ocyon Bio in next-generation cell therapies.
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East Ocyon Bio: Advancing CAR-NK Cell Therapy in India
CAR-NK (Chimeric Antigen Receptor–Natural Killer) cell therapies are emerging as a scalable and potentially safer alternative to conventional autologous CAR-T therapies.
Through this initiative, East Ocyon Bio will leverage healthy donors to isolate and expand NK cells, which are then engineered to express CAR constructs against disease-specific targets.
Unlike patient-specific CAR-T therapies, CAR-NK therapies offer immediate availability, simplified manufacturing logistics, lower risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), and a favourable safety profile with reduced incidence of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity.
NK cells also possess intrinsic anti-tumor and immunomodulatory properties, including the ability to target MHC-I deficient tumors. With TDB support, East Ocyon Bio aims to develop scalable, off-the-shelf immunotherapies that can be rapidly deployed across treatment centres.
Focus on Resistant Tumors and Leishmaniasis
Under the project, East Ocyon Bio proposes to develop and commercialize:
- Anti-PD-L1 CAR-NK cell therapy for multiple resistant solid tumors; and
- CAR-NK therapy targeting Leishmaniasis, representing a novel immunotherapeutic strategy for a neglected tropical disease of significant public health relevance in India.
The technology platform at East Ocyon Bio, developed entirely in-house, focuses on allogeneic, off-the-shelf CAR-NK and CAR-γδ T cell therapies derived from healthy donors.
These are engineered in bulk, cryopreserved under GMP-adaptable systems, and administered without patient matching – enabling scalability, cost-effectiveness, and rapid deployment.
The lead innovation integrates a PD-L1-targeting CAR construct into NK cells using the gamma-retroviral platform, ensuring high expression efficiency and sustained functional persistence.
Through this approach, East Ocyon Bio seeks to create a robust indigenous cell therapy ecosystem addressing both oncology and infectious diseases.
Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB, stated that the Board’s support reflects its commitment to nurturing high-impact, frontier technologies that address unmet medical needs while building indigenous manufacturing capabilities.
He emphasized that enabling advanced cell therapy platforms within the country will significantly reduce reliance on imported therapies and position India as a competitive player in next-generation immunotherapies.
Dr Renu and Dr Dinesh Kundu, Co-founders of East Ocyon Bio, expressed that the support from TDB will accelerate clinical translation of the company’s CAR-NK platform and help bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and patient access.
They noted that the development of an indigenous, scalable, and affordable cell therapy platform has the potential to transform treatment paradigms for both oncology and infectious diseases in India and beyond.
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Strengthening India’s Bio-Innovation Ecosystem
The project led by East Ocyon Bio is expected to contribute to strengthening India’s bio-innovation ecosystem, enhancing technology self-reliance, and advancing affordable access to cutting-edge therapies.
The initiative aligns with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat by promoting indigenous innovation and manufacturing in advanced biotherapeutics.
With TDB-DST support, East Ocyon Bio is positioned to play a significant role in building India’s capabilities in CAR-NK cell therapy development and clinical trials for difficult-to-treat tumors and Leishmaniasis.
