Century Therapeutics is a Philadelphia-based, biotechnology company working to reimagine the potential of cell therapy across a number of serious diseases.
The company is developing investigational cell therapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, to potentially treat autoimmune diseases, like Type 1 diabetes (T1D), as well as cancer.
THE VISION
At the heart of Century’s vision is a simple question: what happens if a potentially curative cell therapy could one day be made and delivered more like an off-the-shelf medicine?
Built around a shared belief that science matters most when it has the potential to expand access and deliver real impact for patients, families, and society, Century aims to engineer immune-evasive, iPSC-derived cell therapies to unlock a future of durable, potentially curative medicine.
THE SCIENCE
What sets Century apart is its focus on tackling some of the core challenges that can limit how widely available cell therapies have the potential to be used.
At the core of Century’s strategy is an allogeneic, iPSC-derived cell therapy platform designed to fully harness the capabilities of synthetic biology and advanced genetic engineering. The platform begins with cells from a single human donor that are reprogrammed into iPSCs and precisely edited through a highly controlled process to optimize their therapeutic potential for a specific disease.
From this process, a single, well-characterized clone is selected to establish a master cell bank, enabling consistent, large scale manufacturing over the lifetime of a product/cell therapy candidate. This approach is designed to minimize reliance on repeated donor sourcing, reduce batch-to-batch variability, and increase dose capacity – supporting the development of scalable cell therapies with the potential to reach more patients.
The Century team is pursuing proprietary cell engineering approaches enabled by its Allo-Evasion™ technology, which is intended to adjust certain cellular features involved in immune recognition to allow its “off-the-shelf” cell therapies to more naturally co-exist with the patient’s immune system and prevent immune rejection. This research focuses on better understanding how engineered cells may interact with the human immune system, and exploring whether those insights could potentially broaden the applicability of cell therapy.
“At Century, we are building a future where cell therapies are not constrained by immune rejection or limited supply,” said Brent Pfeiffenberger, PharmD, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Century Therapeutics. “By harnessing the full potential of iPSC-derived cell therapies and immune evasion engineering, we aim to deliver scalable, potentially curative solutions that endure. Our work – starting in T1D – reflects a conviction that the next era of medicine will be defined not by managing disease, but by fundamentally changing its outcome.”
KEY MILESTONE: NEW PROGRAM EXPLORES THE POTENTIAL OF ENGINEERED CELLS FOR T1D
In late 2025, Century announced a new beta islet research program for T1D, referred to as CNTY-813. T1D affects approximately 9 million people worldwide, including approximately 2 million in the U.S., with a significant subset facing persistent hypoglycemia, glycemic variability, and long-term complications despite treatment with exogenous insulin.
The investigational CNTY-813 program comprises iPSC-derived beta islets engineered with the company’s proprietary Allo-Evasion™ 5.0 technology.
In addition to T1D, Century’s cell therapy approach is also being studied in B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupuserythematosus, lupus nephritis, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, and diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis, as well as solid tumors.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND CENTURY
Century Therapeutics is built by people who choose hard problems on purpose. Researchers, engineers, business leaders, and problem solvers come together around a mission they describe as motivating and meaningful – bringing rigor, curiosity, and heart to the work every day.
Across teams and sites, colleagues talk about real camaraderie and a genuine willingness to help, whether the challenge is scientific, operational, or personal. That spirit is grounded in Century’s values – integrity, passion, science, and courage – and shows up in how work gets done: collaboratively, transparently, and with a shared commitment to following the data and pushing beyond what’s been done before.
CULTURE OF INNOVATION
Innovation isn’t treated as a buzzword – it’s part of the fabric of the company. Century’s Ways of Working are simple, practical, and lived day-to-day: acting like owners, communicating clearly and openly, staying resilient and adaptable, and thinking beyond the obvious.
As Pfeiffenberger puts it, “The real magic at Century is not a single technology – it’s the way our people show up. How we work together, make decisions, and stay accountable to one another is what allows bold science to move forward with purpose.”
That same mindset shapes the employee experience. Century aims to be a place where people can do ambitious, mission-driven work and feel supported along the way. Team members consistently point to strong, respectful leadership, openness to different perspectives, and a clear understanding of how their work connects to the company’s goals. The result is a culture of ownership, thoughtful decision making, and pride in the details – because the work matters, and so do the people doing it.
LOOKING AHEAD
Century Therapeutics is entering its next chapter with clarity and momentum – advancing iPSC derived, immune-evasive cell therapies from bold science to potential real-world impact. The company is focused on progressing programs in T1D, autoimmune disease, and cancer, with the goal of moving investigational candidates into the clinic and closer to patients.
“Our north star is simple and profound: to make the extraordinary ordinary,” said Pfeiffenberger. “We’re uniting iPSC innovation with immune evasion engineering to build potentially curative, off-the-shelf therapies – and we’re doing it with urgency and heart. Starting with T1D and expanding into autoimmune disease and cancer, our team is driven by the belief that patients deserve more than incremental progress. They deserve medicines that transform and endure.”
Century Therapeutics’ product candidates are investigational and have not been approved by the FDA for any use.
