PHCbi-Panasonic eBook - 27

Cell Therapy Today * New Developments in Immunotherapy * Cell Therapy Production Moves to Factory Floor

and industrial manufacturing meant tackling
the labor-intensive, multistep workflow used to
genetically modify patients' T cells with a new
modus operandi. GE Healthcare's strategy simplifies this workflow by connecting multiple unit
operations using semiautomated subroutines to
increase overall efficiency and reduce the need
for manual intervention.

Cocoon technology, currently under
development by Lonza in collaboration
with Octane Biotech, is based on an
automated GMP-in-a-box concept for
autologous cell therapy manufacturing.
This image zooms in on the Cocoon
instrument, which houses a patientspecific, presterilized, disposable cassette
that provides a system of interlinked
modules for processes such as seeding,
expansion, feeding, and harvesting.

| GENengnews.com

In addition to offering semiautomated, closed
systems for cell isolation, expansion, and
harvesting, GE Healthcare's portfolio includes
an integrated end-to-end solution for cryogenically preserving cell therapies with Asymptote
cryopreservation technology that includes VIA
Freeze™ controlled rate freezers, automated
thawers, and my.Cryochain software.
This past January, Cellular Biomedicine Group, a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm, announced
its plans to configure part of its facility in
Shanghai using GE Healthcare's FlexFactory
platform to commercialize its CAR-T therapies.
According to Ger Brophy, Ph.D., general manager,
cell therapy, GE Healthcare, the scalable, start-

to-finish cell therapy manufacturing platform
could cut in half the 18 months it typically takes a
company to prepare a facility.
In addition to equipment, GE Healthcare's FlexFactory provides logistical solutions like Fast Trak
training programs. Developed in collaboration
with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), these programs aim to get
staff up and running as quickly as the facility itself.

Anticipating a Metamorphosis
According to Dr. Bauer, autologous therapies now
constitute approximately 60% of the cell therapy
industry. Lonza responded to these turning tides
by partnering with Octane Biotech, a regenerative medicine company, in 2015. Octane's
automated bioreactor, Cocoon™, performs core
functions necessary for autologous cell therapy
production, including cell seeding, expansion,
feeding, and harvesting. "We call it a GMP-in-abox system," said Dr. Bauer.
Since adopting the technology, Lonza has
worked with Octane to integrate additional

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