The project will focus on the development of a proprietary monitoring and control methodology, enabling robust growth of adherent human pluripotent stem cells in EMD Millipore’s Mobius CellReady stirred tank bioreactor.
It will deliver a commercially available kit containing reagents and associated methodologies for bioreactor culture of stem cells on microcarriers.
EMD Millipore Stem Cell Initiative commercial director Robert Shaw said as the demand for stem cells used in drug discovery and clinical applications grows, effectively translating the promise of stem cells into therapeutic reality will require large-scale, industrialized production under tightly controlled conditions.
"At this time, production is typically achieved using stacks of 2D tissue culture vessels, which is an expensive and labor intensive process," Shaw said.
"This joint project will address those challenges and facilitate optimized, large-scale cultivation of stem cells which can accelerate the progress of therapies into the clinic."
Mobius CellReady will be employed in CCRM’s product development facility at the University of Toronto’s Banting Institute.