Chill, Not Kill: How Quell Therapeutics is Reimagining Cell Therapy

In this episode of Moving Medicine Forward, Jeremy Schrand is joined by Luke Devey, Chief Medical Officer at Quell Therapeutics, and Savannah Doliboa, Chief Commercial Officer at CTI, to discuss how engineered regulatory T cell therapies are being developed to “chill, not kill” the immune system. The conversation explores Quell Therapeutics’ approach to Treg cell therapy, the complexity of launching advanced cell therapy trials across Europe, and how strong collaboration helped accelerate study startup for patients with serious autoimmune diseases.00:00 Introduction to Quell Therapeutics and its "Chill, Not Kill" approach to engineered Treg cell therapies 01:13 What engineered regulatory T cells are and how they differ from traditional CAR-T therapies 02:31 Launching a first-in-human basket trial in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis with CTI03:05 Why Quell selected the UK, Germany, and Spain for study startup and site activation05:27 Finding the right CRO partner: Why Quell chose CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services 07:21 Navigating regulatory pathways, site readiness, and operational complexity in advanced cell therapy trials 10:47 The strategy behind accelerating study startup and overcoming traditional delays12:05 Achieving first-patient-ready status in 113 days, cutting benchmark timelines by 48%13:57 The patient impact: addressing significant unmet needs in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis17:00 Key lessons from the trial and building a culture focused on collaboration, innovation, and patient outcomes 20:58 What's next for Quell Therapeutics and the future of engineered Treg cell therapies