Dundee-based biotechnology firm Cellexus are gearing up to approach new markets with the appointment of Fiona Bellot as Sales Director.

Fiona joins the Cellexus team with a wealth of experience across the life sciences industry from previous appointments with Proteintech Group and RoslinCT, among others.

Fiona will lead Cellexus through a period of growth as they set their sights on new markets, including advanced therapies, recombinant antibody and vaccine production, and the emerging clean meat sector.

Cellexus manufacture the patented single-use airlift CellMaker bioreactor systems. The CellMaker is used by scientists to scale up cell culture in their laboratories to develop new products and vaccines.

Culturing cells takes place inside single-use bioreactor bags in the CellMaker, which means scientists can switch between production runs quickly without the need to clean and validate a glass or stainless steel bioreactor, saving time, cost and energy, while also speeding up their work.

The CellMaker uses airlift technology, bubbling gases up through the bioreactor bag to mix the media containing cells, rather than stirring with a mechanical arm that damages cells and then also needs to be cleaned with expensive and toxic chemicals.

The airlift technology allows researchers to reproduce high quantities of cells from each batch, improving yield, efficiency and scalability.

Fiona Bellot, Sales Director at Cellexus, says, “I am very excited to have joined Cellexus during this period of growth. I am looking forward to bringing the CellMaker into laboratories across the globe and helping scientists to scale-up their production and bring new vaccines and therapeutics onto the market.”

Gavin Hands, CEO at Cellexus, says, “We are delighted Fiona has joined the team. Her experience and knowledge will better equip us to approach these new target markets whilst serving our existing customers and secure the future growth of Cellexus.”