Broadening Access to Cell Therapies
From its earliest days, MaxCyte had a vision: Helping clients turn cells into cell therapies. And now this vision is becoming reality. A few isolated, laboratory-scale exercises will soon become a burgeoning collection of commercial-scale products. For its role in driving this transition, MaxCyte is justifiably proud. Indeed, the company has a story to tell.
The story’s most exciting chapter involves the use of MaxCyte technology in the production of Casgevy, the first CRISPR-based gene therapy to win FDA approval. Casgevy is perhaps best known as being the commercial version of the sickle cell disease therapy that was first given to Victoria Gray, who subsequently experienced much less severe symptoms. Less well known are the details of the Casgevy production process. Basically, this process requires the gentle but efficient introduction of CRISPR editing components into primary cells ex vivo.
Enter MaxCyte, which has been developing and optimizing its Flow Electroporation® technology, allowing cells to move through an electroporation chamber while undergoing transfection. The approach is automated and provides greater scalability, process standardization, and consistency than is possible with static electroporation approaches.
For more about MaxCyte’s role in the cell therapy story, read this eBook, which begins with high-level descriptions of electroporation before diving into technical details. The former include a summary provided by Cenk Sumen, PhD, MaxCyte’s Chief Scientific Advisor, who covers electroporation’s essentials and highlights emerging applications. Also, Kevin Davies, PhD, GEN’s EVP of strategic development, sketches MaxCyte’s history, touches on its achievements in the present (by reporting on a MaxCyte reception for Gray), and offers a vision of the company’s future.
A wealth of technical information follows: three application notes and a scientific poster. These articles add substance to the MaxCyte story by describing how electroporation technology enhances both the engineering and the manufacture of cell therapies. This kind of substance is needed if we are to ensure that all those who can benefit from cell therapies have the opportunity to receive them.
