Cellexus goes for growth with new application of its technology
Dundee-based life sciences company Cellexus is targeting new markets to fuel its growth after forming a partnership that will prove its technology is suitable for use in an untapped area of research and product development.
Working with the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) and Abertay University Dundee, the company will prove that its ‘CellMaker’ single-use bioreactor systems can be used to culture CHO cells – a fundamental part of medical research and diagnostic tool.
CHO cells are typically used as the production factories for a variety of medical products, ranging from lateral flow tests – currently being used to detect Covid-19 – to anti-venom serums. Using transgenic cells grown in bioreactors to produce antibodies supports sustainability in the sector by removing the need for using animals to harvest the sera.
Formed in August 2017, Cellexus’ patented CellMaker technology has been developed from more than a decade of research. The unique system is used in a variety of applications, including in the production of antibodies, growing mammalian cell cultures, as well as in the fermentation of yeast, bacteria, and microalgae.
The global market for single-use bioreactors is expected to grow to $3.9 billion (£2.8 billion) by 2025, with demand rapidly rising as research and development on diseases increases following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cellexus has recently received a grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, of £320,000, for the research and development of a 100L bioreactor for stem cell applications.
Adam Ostrowski, technical application manager, Cellexus, said: “CHO cells are the workhorse of advanced biotechnology. Partnering with IBioIC and Abertay University will enable us to prove that our CellMaker system can work with these cells, by providing us with access to laboratory facilities we wouldn’t normally have. Once the suitability of our technology is proven, this could potentially unlock a large and untapped market for us.”
Liz Fletcher, director of business engagement and operations, IBioIC commented: “Cellexus is a great example of an ambitious and innovative biotechnology company, with a unique product. Our aim is to help young companies like it grow by providing them with the support they need to prove their technologies’ application to new areas, funding towards fundamental research, and the infrastructure and network to scale their offering. We are always keen to help more Scottish start-ups and SMEs find new ways of developing their products and services.”
Dr Sean Brown, senior lecturer at Abertay University, said: “We are very proud of the IBioIC award, which permits us to leverage our expertise in cell culture and protein expression within the School of Applied Sciences. We are also delighted to partner with Cellexus and help the company to achieve its commercial goals. This is a particularly exciting project as we get to use Cellexus’s cutting-edge technology - which has huge possibilities across numerous areas of biotechnology and biomedical research - to potentially improve protein production yields.”