Cellares and Sonoma Biotherapeutics agreed to automate engineered Treg cell manufacturing for SBT-77-7101, an engineered regulatory T cell therapy now in Phase I development for poly-refractory rheumatoid arthritis. The companies said they will translate SonomaBio’s manufacturing process onto Cellares’ Cell Shuttle platform and automate in-process and release testing via Cellares’ Cell Q quality system. The partnership is positioned as a path to scale for Treg manufacturing—an area widely viewed as technically demanding and sensitive to process variability. Cellares also highlighted its commercial Smart Factory operations in Bridgewater, New Jersey, along with additional facilities under construction in Europe and Japan. Both companies framed the move around enabling consistent, repeatable manufacturing while improving turnaround and quality control. For developers, the deal highlights a trend toward systems-level cell therapy factories integrating automated process steps with standardized analytics. If the automation performs as intended, it could reduce bottlenecks that constrain trial enrollment and cost of goods for next-generation Treg platforms.