Thermo Fisher Scientific, a leader in advanced cell therapy instruments, has joined forces with Multiply Labs' robotic technology to fully automate key processes in cell therapy manufacturing. This collaboration aims to drive down costs, expedite production timelines, and enhance scalability, ultimately enabling innovative cell therapies to reach more patients.

Through integration with Multiply Labs' robotic technology, Thermo Fisher's industry-leading cell therapy instruments, including the Heracell VIOS Automated Access CO2 Incubator and the Gibco Cell Therapy Systems Rotea Counterflow Centrifugation System, can now be fully automated. This automation represents a significant advancement in cell therapy development and manufacturing.

The automated Heracell VIOS Incubator can host up to 18 products in parallel when using G-Rex100M bioreactors, a substantial increase compared to traditional manual manufacturing methods. This scalability opens doors for manufacturers to produce more therapies simultaneously and scale up operations efficiently.

Moreover, automating Thermo Fisher's CTS Rotea Counterflow Centrifugation System streamlines key manufacturing steps, including upstream and downstream cell processing, leading to increased throughput and reduced labor costs. Compared to traditional manual processes requiring 4-8 operators, an automated workflow powered by robotic technology can be executed by a single operator, resulting in significant space savings and enhanced efficiency.

Xavier De Mollerat Du Jeu, Senior Director of Research and Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific, highlighted the importance of the expanded partnership in delivering curative therapies to patients more efficiently. “With so many groundbreaking cell therapies available or forthcoming for patients, we cannot afford to let manual processes reduce scalability and stand in the way of access. Not only are we taking our incubator partnership to the next level to deliver a fully-automated GMP product, but together we will engineer the automation of our latest-generation closed system centrifuge – an essential instrument for cell therapy manufacturing,” he added.

Fred Parietti, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Multiply Labs, expressed optimism about the collaboration's potential impact on cell therapy manufacturing. He stressed the goal of establishing a seamlessly automated process to positively influence patient care, underscoring the pivotal role of the ongoing partnership in advancing the realization of cell therapy benefits.

This collaboration presents a promising opportunity for cell therapy innovators and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs) to integrate Thermo Fisher's cutting-edge solutions and leverage the advantages of automation for improved efficiency and patient outcomes. 

With automated processes demonstrating statistical equivalence to manual methods, manufacturers can adopt automation with minimal alterations and reduced regulatory risk, further streamlining cell therapy production.