PHI, SAS, QIAGEN and BioSpherix form Alliance to Advance Cell-based Biomanufacturing
In association with the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Phase Holographic Imaging (PHI), BioSpherix, analytics leader SAS and QIAGEN have created a technology development alliance to create the AI-based process control tools needed for automated biomanufacturing — allowing cell-based therapies to be manufactured cost-effectively with superior efficacy and safety.
By repairing or replacing dysfunctional cells, tissues and organs, regenerative therapies promise to treat injuries and diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders that are incurable today. In particular, cellular therapies have proved highly effective in treating patients with blood cancer. Furthermore, recent clinical studies indicate that these therapies may also be effective against solid tumors.
The highly complex manufacturing of cell-based therapies nevertheless remains problematic despite their clinical success. The alliance aims to automate the manufacturing process of cell-based therapies using recent technology developments in cell culturing, analytical instrumentation and artificial intelligence.
Cell therapies are today meticulously cultured and manufactured by hand in an open laboratory environment, making it difficult to scale up manufacturing — much like the automotive industry before the invention of the assembly line.
BioSpherix has been building Cytocentric cell culture equipment since 1983. It will provide a sealed, sterile and cell-friendly environment to the alliance where cells are cultured at controlled temperature, oxygen and CO2 levels without human contact.
SAS will provide the AI expertise and software infrastructure to automatically analyze the wealth of data collected by the QIAGEN and PHI instrumentation.
The 6 100-employee strong QIAGEN will provide the DNA, RNA and protein molecular data it offers to more than 500 000 customers around the globe.
Equally important, PHI will provide non-invasive single-cell imaging data quantifying cellular behavior and morphology without using compromising reagents.
The Wake Forest Ecosystem of Regenerative Medicine
This new alliance stems from these companies associated with the RegeneratOR, a key component of the regenerative medicine ecosystem in Winston-Salem, NC, called the Regenerative Medicine Hub (RegenMed Hub™), positioned to be a national leader in regenerative medicine innovation. The RegeneratOR is a program of the RegenMed Development Organization in association with its collaborative research partner, the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The RegenMed Hub™, based in the Innovation Quarter, draws together the resources and talent available through the Wake Forest enterprise and the surrounding region, offering expansive resources for entrepreneurs and life science professionals.
This disclosure contains information that Phase Holographic is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, on 14-11-2022 09:35 CET.
For additional information, please contact:
Lisa Bodily
E-mail: ir@phiab.se
Web: www.phiab.com – Live cell imaging & analysis
Phase Holographic Imaging (PHI) develops instrumentation and software for time-lapse cytometry. The products are used for long-term quantitative analysis of the dynamics of live cells, particularly significant in the research of cancer, as well as in the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The products are sold globally through the company's distributors. The company is based in Lund, Sweden, and in Boston, Massachusetts.
