Collaboration aims to reduce time and cost of cell and gene therapy development

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) is collaborating with life sciences companies CPI and MicrofuidX to develop bioprocessing technology for the rapid scale-up of cell and gene therapies.

The technology, which is being developed by MicrofluidX, could help manufacturers overcome major bottlenecks in the development of cell and gene therapies, as well as reduce the time and costs associated with bringing such treatments to market.

Whilst cell and gene therapies offer promising treatment options in disease areas with unmet clinical needs, reliable methods are still needed to manufacture these therapies to commercial levels.

Manufacturers currently struggle to achieve consistent performance at different scales, which can lead to prolonged development times. This can significantly raise the cost these therapies upon entry to the market.

Now, MicrofluidX is developing microfluidic cell culture technology to provide manufacturers with fine process control throughout development, ensuring consistent quality.

The technology can be used to optimise cell characteristics and growth conditions early in development, before rapidly transitioning to large-scale manufacturing without the need to invest time in redesigning processes. Using microfluidics greatly reduces the consumption of expensive reagents, cutting down overall development costs.

MicrofluidX, who recently closed a funding round of £1.4 million, will now work with CPI and CGT Catapult to secure further funding and validate its prototypes.

Dr Antoine Espinet, dounder and CEO of MicrofluidX, said: “We are excited to be working with CPI and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult on the development of our innovative microfluidics platform. Our technology will cut the time and costs required to bring cell and gene therapies to market, improving access to these novel treatments.”

Lucy Foley, director of Biologics at CPI, said: “We look forward to working with MicrofluidX, following our successful grant application. This technology could play an important role in the future development of cell and gene therapies, and our expertise in the manufacturing of biologics will help to ensure that the technology is market-ready as quickly as possible.”

Matthew Durdy, CEO of CGT Catapult, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting the development of this microfluidic bioprocessing platform, technology which shows significant promise for scaling up cell and gene therapy manufacture. The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult is looking forward to working with MicrofluidX and CPI, innovating together to overcome barriers in the UK industry.”