Pluristem and Thermo Fisher Look to Plug Gaps in Cell Therapy Manufacture

Pluristem and Thermo Fisher will work to address the lack of technologies available to cell therapy manufacturers for the cultivation and processing of allogeneic products.

“There is a lack of technologies for the cultivation and processing of allogeneic products whose potential is high scale production,” Yaky Yanay, president and co-CEO of Pluristem Therapeutics told BioProcess Insider.

“Some of the gaps are in the technology itself, some are in the quality or the availability of raw materials.”

To minimize some of these existing gaps in processes and quality, the Israeli cell therapy firm has entered into a strategic partnership with bioprocessing vendor Thermo Fisher and hopes to address the industry as a whole rather than a specific therapy.

“The main goal of this partnership is to mutually develop solutions based on the knowledge accumulated in both companies in order to provide the market with better products, which will be able to support the growth required in the industry,” Yanay said.

Solutions for the Entire Industry

According to the firm, there are over 850 companies worldwide developing regenerative medicine and there are more than 900 clinical trials underway,

“Traditional customer-to-vendor relationships are focused on finding solutions for the manufacturer. In this partnership, we are developing solutions for the entire industry in order to raise the quality of products to suit the demands of production for Phase III studies and marketing.”

Pluristem uses some of Thermo Fisher’s products to produce its own therapies, so is familiar with the vendor’s technologies.

“Regardless, Thermo Fisher is known for its biopharmaceutical infrastructure, materials supply, logistics, and manufacturing expertise,” Yanay continued. “They hold an extensive knowledge in the entire working space of manufacturing cell therapy, from the level of raw materials, through production and control technologies to final product characterization tests, and that is why we found them as an ideal partner for Pluristem to advance the industry significantly.”

Financial details will be revealed according to the progress, specific projects and the need to the industry, he added.