Reaching a new milestone in the industrial implementation of the C-StemTM technology, TreeFrog Therapeutics announces the opening of a 13,000 sq ft facility aimed at scaling-up cell therapy manufacturing processes based on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
Bordeaux, France, June 6, 2020 – TreeFrog Therapeutics announces today the commissioning of a 13,000 sq ft facility in Bordeaux, France, dedicated to the development and scale-up of cell therapy manufacturing processes using human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Built on the proprietary C-StemTM technology, the platform will advance a pipeline of in-house cell therapy initiatives, together with a range of programs in co-development with pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies already active in the field.
In contrast with current cell therapy manufacturing models, requiring intensive human resources, financial investments, and extensive footprints, TreeFrog Therapeutics’ 3D cell culture technology enables mass production of cellular products in tight spaces, while offering a 10-fold decrease in operating costs. To do so, the C-StemTM technology combines high-throughput stem cell encapsulation (1,000 capsules per second) with the scale-up potential of industrial bioreactors. Protected within an alginate shell from shear stress, stem cells can indeed be amplified and differentiated with a high level of consistency and reproducibility in large automated bioreactors.
“In 2019, we demonstrated that C-StemTM enables to expand iPS cells in bioreactors by x100 per week, with unprecedented yields and cell quality, while delivering ready-to-graft therapeutic microtissues. With the COVID crisis in 2020, we strongly believe that our technology is set to become a dominant design for cell therapy manufacturing, because it allows to maintain cost-efficient production units in high-income countries.”
Kevin Alessandri, PhD, CEO-CTO of TreeFrog Therapeutics
“With this new facility, we are now capable of producing batches of several billions cells in GMP-like conditions at a very early development stage, for non-clinical studies. When cell therapy programs move to clinical phases, our facility will serve as a scale-up lab, to build and transfer commercial-scale capacities to GMP-compliant manufacturing sites.”
Michael Lanero Fidalgo, EMBA, COO of TreeFrog Therapeutics
Take a 360° view at the facility
https://youtu.be/Fid46y9rJOI
About TreeFrog Therapeutics
TreeFrog Therapeutics is a startup company aiming at providing access to cell therapies for millions of patients. TreeFrog Therapeutics has developed C-StemTM, a high-throughput cell encapsulation technology allowing the mass-production and differentiation of stem cells in industrial bioreactors. This proprietary technology platform provides an end-to-end and scalable solution that will dramatically improve the quality of therapeutic cells and reduce treatment costs.
Since its incorporation in November 2018 in Bordeaux, France, TreeFrog Therapeutics has experienced strong acceleration, raising over €13M ($14,65M) in 2019. In January 2020, TreeFrog Therapeutics joined the FrenchTech120, an elite programme for the fastest-growing technology companies in France. The team – currently 26 staff – moved into a brand-new production facility of 13,000 sq ft in June 2020.
TreeFrog Therapeutics is receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the SME Instrument Phase 2 under grant agreement n° SME 881113.
Useful information
Press Contact :
Pierre-Emmanuel Gaultier, Marketing & Communication Manager
+33 6 45 77 42 58, pierre@treefrog.fr