Originally Aired: April 25, 2022
Time: 8:00 am PT, 11:00 am ET, 17:00 CET
This Learning Lab discusses culture systems, integrated consumables, and technical considerations for cell expansion processes in the production of autologous and allogeneic cell therapy products. Our expert panelists will discuss the implementation of scalable, cost-efficient technologies and process optimization strategies that bridge the gap between basic R&D in cell expansion technologies and GMP-ready manufacturing of commercially available cell therapies.
Cell therapies, the treatment of diseases with live cells, are now commercially available treatments where a patient’s own (autologous) or a donor’s cells (allogeneic) are collected, engineered, expanded ex vivo, and reinjected into the patient. Cell therapies are poised to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry by providing new therapeutic options for diseases that have been considered untreatable.
Among the complex operations required for manufacturing cell therapies, cell expansion, the most time-consuming part of the process, poses unique bioprocess challenges. This important step determines qualitative and quantitative attributes of the final cell therapy product. Cell expansion techniques face biological, regulatory, economic, logistical, safety and engineering challenges that must be addressed before cell therapies can be implemented in clinical practice. Our experts will discuss challenges and solutions in cell expansion processes, and a new technology for culturing adherent cells within hollow alginate hydrogen microfibers that ensure homogeneous and scalable 3D culture conditions and reduce development costs and production timelines.
A live Q&A session followed the presentation, offering a chance to pose questions to our expert panelists.