Invetech and Caladrius Biosciences Receive 2017 Good Design Award® 

In presenting the award to Invetech and Caladrius Biosciences, the jury commented, “The combination of a centrifuge and counterflow represents a significant breakthrough that will greatly enhance the ability of the cell therapy industry in developing new therapies for the treatment of cancers and other illnesses. This is a very comprehensive technology solution.”

The CFC is a unique platform that enables cell therapy developers to wash and concentrate cells in a closed environment. It was designed for incorporation into Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) equipment as a key element in commercial manufacture of cell therapies. The CFC is designed for use in multiple stages of both research and production for concentration/volume reduction, cell washing, media exchange, particle depletion, and short-term incubation.

“We are very pleased to be selected for this design award, as it underscores our leadership role in cell therapy development. As a technology that combines multiple operations into one automated platform, the CFC provides flexible, more efficient processes to enhance the manufacture of autologous and other patient-specific products in a cost-effective manner,” said David J. Mazzo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Caladrius Biosciences. “This award acknowledges the unique design of the CFC and its capacity to enable researchers and clinicians to more efficiently develop and manufacture new cell-based therapies.”

The CFC consists of an instrumentation platform, a novel disposable flow path, and operating and application software for automated execution of user-selected protocols. The CFC platform provides a flexible small-scale process suitable for GMP manufacturing of autologous and other patient-specific products where small-scale is full-scale, while also supporting efficient development of processes at lower cost prior to transitioning to scaled volumes.

“We collaborated with Caladrius Biosciences on the development of the CFC platform to enable them and other cell therapy companies to undertake process development on production representative equipment and disposables earlier in their clinical trials,” said Richard Grant, Global Vice President, Cell Therapy at Invetech. “We have succeeded in developing a platform washing technology that is not only gentle on cells and maximizes cell yield at high viability, but is also a foundation technology enabling companies to build their manufacturing process. We are thrilled to be recognized by the Good Design judging panel and to have received this coveted award for design and innovation.”