Cutting edge: ElevateBio looks beyond current biotechnologies

ElevateBio says its emerging technology laboratory enables the firm to stay on the cutting-edge of solutions.  

Neither a contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) nor an end-user, cell and gene therapy (CGT) firm ElevateBio, sat down with BioProcess Insider to discuss the importance of technology in the industry and what it is doing to keep up with demand.

“Instead of staying current with technology on the cutting edge, whether it’s attending conferences or even working with new device companies […] we actually set up a laboratory that specifically evaluates new technology. We call it the emerging technology core laboratory where we not only make small batch lenti- and cell products for our partners to do R&D studies and preclinical work, but we also do a lot of alpha and beta testing of new devices,” Mike Paglia, chief operating officer at ElevateBio, told us.

COO of ElevateBio, Mike Paglia.

“We know that it is so important that we have that separate laboratory, that is isolated from the day-to-day process development and translation for our partners.”

In addition to the emerging technology laboratory located at its BaseCamp facility based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Paglia said it is backed by “the team and the know-how” that does not “only accelerate [customer] timelines but actually means [we] get it right the first time.”

ElevateBio’s BaseCamp site agreed to provide manufacturing and technical expertise for TCR² Therapeutics’ cell therapy, TC-210, in November 2020. Furthermore, in September 2022, the firm signed a deal with the University of Pittsburgh to use its development and manufacturing platform, BaseCamp, to accelerate CGTs.

Through having a “highly digital infrastructure” at its Waltham site, Paglia said the firm is able to “have a cutting-edge chain of custody and identity electronic system.” In turn, this enables ElevateBio “to be able to have a multi-product and multimodal facility to support our partners.”