MicrofluidX bags UK grant to advance CGT platform

The funding from Innovate UK via their Investor Partnership program will enable MicrofluidX to advance development of its stackable multi-bioreactor technology, Cyto Engine Stack.

The Innovate UK Investor Partnerships Future Economy program has awarded cell and gene therapy (CGT) technology developer MicrofluidX (MFX) with £685,000 ($872,000) to progress the development of its Cyto Engine Stack. The lead investor partner of the program is Longwall Ventures.

MFX said it will use the funding to progress the first-generation prototypes of this concept, as well as continuing to develop the Cyto Engine platform for process development. The company anticipates the first Cyto Engine product to be launched in early 2025.

“We are extremely excited to be able to resource the development of this next instrument in the Cyto Engine family – a system designed to stack multiple bioreactors in a single footprint,” Antoine Espinet, CEO of MFX, said.

“We’re very thankful to Innovate UK and Longwall Ventures for their continued support and look forward to developing this novel concept.”

According to the firm, the ability to stack multiple bioreactors in one single automated instrument allows cell therapy manufacturers to increase their production without the need to increase their facility footprint. Additionally, the Cyto Engine Stack is said to be able to monitor and control each process independently.

“We’re delighted to continue our support of MFX alongside Innovate UK and are excited to see the Stack concept of multiple bioreactors in the same instrument become a reality in this project. Whilst Cell and Gene Therapies have huge clinical potential, manufacturing constraints are limiting their widespread deployment. MFX’s efforts to address these challenges could have a significant impact on the field,” said Rebecca Todd, investment director for Longwall Ventures.

In April 2020, the firm raised $1.7 million in seed funding to advance its microfluidics-based technology, which aims to combat challenges associated with the production of CGTs such as cost of goods, batch variability, and scalability.