Go with the Tide: ISCT North America Regional Meeting 2016 & Boston Biotech Week Exhibits
The International Society of Cell Therapy held its annual North America Regional Meeting at the Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee last September 30 to October 2. The event was well attended by experts in the field of Cell Therapy such as medical doctors, clinicians, scientists, regulatory experts, and laboratory professionals and industry personnel involved in cell processing facilities and programs in North America.
The ISCT NA program held four plenary session topics namely Immunotherapy Clinical Trials and Strategies, Gene Therapy Clinical Trials, Cell Therapy and Tissue Engineering I, and Cell Therapy and Tissue Engineering II. Moreover, there were various workshops, technical science, and quality and operations track sessions that the attendees can choose from. At the end of the first night, a networking reception took place, while the poster sessions took place at the end of the second day.
VacciXcell introduced its core technology, the tide motion bioreactor system, for the first time in ISCT North America. Attendees got the chance to see both the CelCradle™ system and the TideCell® system. The laboratory scale, CelCradle™ system, is an ideal system for autologous cell therapy, as a single bottle can produce from 500M (5E8) to 1B (1E9) adipose-derived or bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; a cell density that is required for a single patient. The CelCradle™ system can also be integrated into VacciXcell’s cell processing isolator, CradlePro-Iso. The system features all the necessary equipment used in cell therapy including a bioreactor for cultivation and centrifuge for cell harvesting in a cGMP isolator.
On the other hand, the TideCell® is an ideal system for allogeneic stem cell therapy. Using the TideCell® system, one trillion (1E12) mesenchymal stem cells can be produced in just 3 passages. Lower passages are ideal for stem cell therapy in order to maintain the cells pluripotency and efficacy. Cell cultivation using the TideCell® System can greatly reduce space, time, and labor requirements and the gentle medium oscillation of the tide motion system leads to much lower shear stress, as compared to other systems like the microcarrier technology. Moreover, cells cultivated using the TideCell® can be harvested and put into cryopreservation in just a few hours using the TideCell® Cell Harvesting System.
Attendees took great interest in VacciXcell’s tide motion system for its high productivity while having low labor, time, and space requirements. The VacciXcell team congratulates ISCT for a very successful event and will be exhibiting at ISCT 2017 in London.
VacciXcell took part in the Boston Biotech Week last October 4-7 2016 held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Boston Biotech Week was comprised of the BioProcess International Conference and Exhibition, Cell & Gene Therapy Bioprocessing & Commercialization, Partnerships in Clinical Trials US, and Biorepositories & Sample Management. The BPI Conference and Exhibition was further subdivided into different tracks including Cell Culture & Upstream Processing, Recovery & Purification, Drug Product Manufacturing & Fill-Finishing Processing, Manufacturing Strategy, and Analytical, Formulation and Quality, while the Cell & Gene Therapy BioProcessing and Commercialization was further subdivided into Cell Therapy Bioprocessing, Tools & Technology, Gene Therapy Development & Production, Commercialization, and Immuno-Oncology.
Boston Biotech Week had two keynote speakers – Toni Hoover, Ph.D., of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer Inc. Aside from the technical sessions and keynote speeches, there was also a panel discussion entitled "President Clinton or President Trump: What are our next president will mean for biotech and pharma” and social events such as the Woman’s Executive Leadership Dinner, BPI awards Ceremony and Dinner, and a party, featuring Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles.
VacciXcell launched the VXL Hybrid Bioreactor at the BPI Conference. The VXL Hybrid is VacciXcell’s 4-in-1 laboratory scale bioreactor, ideal for biopharmaceutical research. It is a system that can be used for the culture of adherent cells in tide motion, adherent cells on microcarriers, suspension cells, and microorganisms. The VXL hybrid bioreactor system provides a platform for researchers to choose the best type of cells for the production of their desired product. Switching from adherent cells in tide motion to the other three types of culture is done by simply removing the carrier housing. The system features fully automated detection and control of parameters such as pH, DO, level, foaming, ORP, and turbidity.
VacciXcell also showcased the CradlePro-Iso, a cell processing isolator. The CradlePro-Iso features the CelCradle™ System, the Esco CO2 incubator, and the Esco Versati™ Centrifuge in a 4-gloved HPI G3 Isolator. The CradlePro-Iso integrates all the necessary equipment for cell processing, a bioreactor for cell cultivation and a centrifuge for the cell harvesting and separation. It is also easily customizable, depending on the client’s requirements and process.
Attendees of the Boston Biotech Week were greatly impressed with the versatility of the VXL Hybrid Bioreactor System and the capacity of VacciXcell to integrate the entire cell processing procedure in a cGMP isolator. Moreover, attendees also enjoyed VacciXcell’s Isolator Game, wherein participants pick out a Dr. Einesco mascot through the CradlePro-Iso and retrieve it via the pass-through chamber.
VacciXcell congratulates the whole team behind the successful Boston Biotech Week and looks forward to next year's event.