PHC Corporation’s Biomedical Division, a global provider of laboratory sample storage and cell cultivation solutions and subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation, has announced the launch of its new cell expansion system LiCellGrow™ for research use in Japan and other select countries worldwide.
The system is designed to improve quality and efficiency in the production of new advanced therapies by allowing therapy developers to visualise metabolic changes in cells in real time and automatically control culture conditions.
PHCbi will exhibit LiCellGrow™ at the 25th Congress of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine, March 19-20 at the Kobe International Conference Center and Kobe International Exhibition Center in Kobe, Japan.
Cell and gene therapies (CGT), in which cells or genetic material are used to create personalised medical treatments, are rapidly advancing as promising treatment options for hard-to-treat diseases such as genetic disorders and cancer. In the manufacturing of CGT products, however, variations in cell characteristics and complexity of manufacturing are challenges to maintaining a consistent quality product. As a result, therapy developers are faced with reduced production efficiency, lower yields, and increased manufacturing costs compared to conventional therapies.
PHCbi developed LiCellGrow™ to address these challenges and support CGT manufacturing at scale by helping to identify optimal culture conditions during the manufacturing process development.
This technology is built on PHCbi’s proprietary electrochemical measurement platform, cultivated through more than 30 years of blood glucose sensor development. By visualizing the metabolic state of cultured cells, which is traditionally difficult to assess, and enabling precise control of culture conditions, LiCellGrow™ supports improved cell quality and enhanced efficiency as well as lower costs through reduced losses in the manufacturing of CGT products.
