CAR-T platform speeds production by up to 50%, says Cytiva

The platform, developed as a part of collaboration with Kite, a Gilead company, aims to address challenges with scale-up and commercialization of cell therapies. It is an automated, functionally closed, modular platform, developed to increase manufacturing productivity by up to 50%.

“The autologous CAR-T cell therapy workflow relies on manual labor. Our new Sefia cell therapy manufacturing platform automates certain steps in the workflow and reduces the need for operator intervention and potential errors which has contributed to the high cost of manufacturing,” Martin Westberg, vice president, cell therapy, Cytiva told BioProcess Insider.

“Depending on the workflow and manufacturing set up, the flexibility of the modular design can decrease hardware redundancy and allow for more efficient utilization of cleanroom space. Furthermore, the Sefia cell manufacturing’s open design and architecture enables customers to define their own process parameter groups to meet specific process requirements.”

According to Cytiva, a Danaher Corporation firm, the platform was developed to automate the cell therapy manufacturing workflow by using a modular and digitally integrated platform which combines two functionally closed systems (together with single use kits and dedicated applications).

“The Sefia select system automates cell isolation, harvest and formulation steps, while Sefia expansion system automates cell activation, transduction and cell expansion steps. It was developed to provide robust flexibility and scalability and to limit the need for operator touch points. Our systems are designed specifically for cell therapy manufacturing, and their flexibility gives them a large range of process parameters. Helping our customers manufacture advanced therapies faster and with greater flexibility benefits the patients waiting for these therapies,” said Westberg.