Innovate UK funding for trio of Cambridge’s R&D cell teams - Revvity, NRC and Abselion
A ground-breaking R&D collaboration involving a trio of companies with a Cambridge presence – NRC, Revvity and Abselion – and Canadian biotech VVector Bio is being funded by a £1.1million Innovate UK grant.
The project consortium has devised a multifaceted strategy to revolutionise viral vector manufacturing. Central to this endeavour is the genetic modification of the widely used HEK-293 cell line.
By meticulously analysing the cell line’s genome and transcriptome under producing and non-producing conditions, researchers aim to identify genes directly impacting viral vector yields and quality. Combined with an innovative approach to manufacturing and process monitoring empowered by online process analytics, the project seeks to disrupt the existing viral vector production process.
The goal is to overcome manufacturing limitations for cell and gene therapies which hold immense promise for curing a myriad of diseases. Current methods face hurdles such as low yields, poor scalability, high costs, and quality testing challenges. Traditional approaches have yielded minimal improvements, requiring a fresh perspective.
“This project represents a paradigm shift towards improving viral vector manufacturing yields,” says Alina Venereo Sanchez, CEO of VVector Bio. “By integrating genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and new ways of directly integrating analytics into production, we’re poised to unlock unprecedented production capabilities.”
The project builds upon NRC’s expertise in biomanufacturing and viral vector production.
“Our past achievements underscore the feasibility of our approach, and we anticipate significant enhancements,” said Aziza Manceur at NRC.
“Revvity is excited to be part of this consortium,” noted Bryan Kipp, Revvity's senior vice president, technology and licensing. “Together, we aim to drive innovation in the cell and gene manufacturing process, which will, in turn, help get life-changing therapies in the hands of patients that need them sooner.”
Ruizhi Wang, CEO of Abselion, called the project “the ultimate opportunity” to “accelerate development and result in more efficient and robust production of the next generation of therapeutics”.
