Cell therapy weekly: Yposkesi expands viral vector production with its second cell and gene therapy plant
This week in cell and gene therapy: Yposkesi expands viral vector production with its second cell and gene therapy plant, Invetech innovate with the new elutriation and cell wash system and Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training and Univercells enter training partnership.
The news highlights:
Yposkesi expands viral vector production with its second cell and gene therapy plant
Yposkesi (Corbeil Essonnes, France), a contract development and manufacturing organization spun out of gene therapy pioneer Généthon (Évry, France), is preparing for mass production of gene therapies, which is set to begin next year. Yposkesi, which was acquired by SK Pharmteco (CA, USA), is expanding its ability to produce viral vectors through the construction of a second cell and gene therapy plant at Genopole (Évry-Courcouronnes). The expansion will double SK Pharmetco’s capacity to 11,000 square meters, growing the company’s presence as a leading CDMO in the cell and gene therapy space.
The new facility has already been stirring up attention; “The commercial operation of the second plant is about a year away, but customer inquiries to secure a supply chain are already pouring in” commented Patrick Lansky, Sales and Marketing Vice President at Yposkesi. “Demand for gene therapy production will sharply increase and Yposkesi is preparing to respond to this trend” he continued.
Invetech innovates: introducing the new elutriation and cell wash system
Invetech (Melbourne, Australia), are driving innovation in the cell and gene therapy space, through the launch of Korus™, a closed system for autologous cell therapies. The counterflow centrifugation system features elutriation and cell wash, delivering purified cell populations for downstream processing development and commercial manufacturing. The launch is a step forward in cell processing innovation, improving purity of target cells, recovery and the potential for more viable therapies. Studies have demonstrated a 2.5X improvement in manufacturing yield, ensuring consistent cell growth and reproducibility of results.
“To fast-track the commercialization of cell and gene therapies, our industry needs efficient and scalable manufacturing technologies that can deliver high quality therapies cost-effectively,” stated Andreas Knaack, President, Invetech. “Invetech’s new technology offering, as demonstrated by our new Korus™ system, represents our continued commitment to helping make life-saving therapies accessible to more patients,” he continued.
Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training and Univercells enter training partnership
Univercells (Charleroi, Belgium), has recently partnered with the Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training (CBET), an arm of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (NY, USA). Aligning with CBET’s vision of educating the biopharmaceutical workforce, the partnership aims to provide on-site access and training on cutting bioreactor technologies, the scale-X™ hydro and scale-X carbo fixed-bed bioreactors. The two will share their expertise and partner in the development of the related training and course design, allowing CBET to essentially ‘teach the teacher’ on Univercells’ equipment as well as provide a beta site for clients to test the technology. There is hope that this partnership will enhance commercialization opportunities, as well as support workforce development in the field of cell and gene therapy.
“Univercells Technologies chose CBET as our first US-based training partner location because our missions are so well aligned. CBET is a purpose-built facility that will remain dedicated to expanding its footprint and range of training to help advance and standardize the approach to cell and gene therapy production. Together, we will provide both a training ground to students to prepare them for a successful career in industry, as well as make new technology platforms more available to current developers within gene therapy,” remarked Mathias Garny, CEO of Univercells Technologies.
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