On September 10, 2024 Xcell Biosciences Inc. (Xcellbio), an instrumentation company focused on cell and gene therapy applications, reported it has advanced its collaboration with Labcorp with the installation of a new AVATAR Foundry system at the healthcare company’s Ann Arbor, Michigan site (Press release, Xcell Biosciences, SEP 10, 2024, View Source [SID1234646497]). This installation, part of the beta access program for Xcellbio’s latest instrument, allows scientists at Labcorp to extend the potency benefits observed in small-scale workflows on the previously installed AVATAR Odyssey platform up to large-scale automated cell therapy manufacturing workflows.
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Xcellbio has developed the AVATAR incubator system for cell and gene therapy research and development with the AVATAR Odyssey system designed for small-scale research and process development needs. Its latest platform, the AVATAR Foundry system, is a current good manufacturing platform (cGMP) that delivers novel capabilities for improving the potency of cell and gene therapies. These capabilities are especially important for cell therapies targeting solid tumors, which often face overwhelming challenges in the hostile tumor microenvironment (TME).
"After using the AVATAR Odyssey system for more than two years, we have seen results demonstrating benefits for both cell therapy expansion rates and anti-tumor potency. We are eager to scale our workflows with the new AVATAR Foundry instrument, which could allow us to support customers early in their development of novel manufacturing techniques for cell and gene therapies," said Maryland Franklin, Ph.D., vice president and enterprise head of cell and gene therapy at Labcorp. "This technology complements our strong capabilities in analytical testing and our commitment to using potency assays and downstream analytics for monitoring and release of candidate therapies to provide delivery of only the most effective and reliable products."
Labcorp scientists have used AVATAR incubation technology to study the effectiveness and performance of cell therapy candidates grown in standard culture conditions versus those grown in customized levels of oxygen and pressure. The use of these custom conditions during cell expansion metabolically rewires therapeutic cells to improve their survival and persistent tumor killing activity in the harsh TME. Labcorp scientists have been going beyond in vitro studies with ongoing in vivo experiments to further evaluate this approach.
"Labcorp has long been one of Xcellbio’s closest collaborators, and we are pleased to include them as early members of our beta access program for the AVATAR Foundry," said Brian Feth, co-founder and CEO at Xcellbio. "We look forward to seeing the innovative ways they will use this platform to enhance their already impressive cell and gene therapy work."