908 Devices, Terumo BCT Adding On-line Analytics to Quantum Flex Cell Expansion System

908 Devices Inc. and Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (Terumo BCT) are partnering to enable on-line monitoring of critical process parameters in Terumo BCT’s Quantum Flex Cell Expansion System. The combination of the companies’ automation technologies will help advance the development of life-saving cell and gene therapies by providing insights into and control of one of the largest components of cell therapy development and manufacturing.
 
Cell and gene therapy developers are increasingly looking to automation to improve manufacturing efficiency, simplify workflows and reduce costs. But quality control today requires having expert staff spending hours on clean room floors to perform manual tasks without error or contamination instead of responding only as needed when issues arise.
 
908 Devices is introducing MAVEN, its on-line glucose and lactate analyzer, to Terumo BCT’s Quantum Flex to provide cell and gene therapy development customers with the ability to monitor and control key process parameters in cell cultures without having to enter the clean room and perform manual sampling. This helps reduce the risk of contamination, save operator time and improve process understanding.
 
“We are proud to be working with a leading cell therapy technologies innovator to meet the next level of process integration in biopharma,” 908 Devices Co-Founder/CEO Kevin J. Knopp said. “We are committed to providing devices that enable scientists to gain insights that reduce costs and accelerate progress.”
 
Terumo BCT’s Quantum Flex Cell Expansion System is an automated and functionally closed system purpose-built to meet the needs of cell therapy developers throughout their commercialization journey, from process development to clinical manufacturing. Quantum Flex helps lower the risk of contamination and enables reproducibility and process scale. It is compatible with a range of suspension cells, adherent cells, viral vectors and exosomes.
 
“Combining our Quantum Flex platform with 908 Devices’ on-line monitoring will help cell therapy manufacturers reduce time-consuming manual steps that increase manufacturing costs and risks,” stated Kathie Schneider, director, global Commercial Lead, Cell Therapy Technologies at Terumo BCT. “We continue to collaborate with industry experts to further enhance our solution offering to solve industry challenges.”
 
908 Devices is improving chemical and biochemical analysis with its handheld and desktop devices, addressing critical-to-life applications. The company’s devices are used at the point-of-need to interrogate unknown and invisible materials and provide quick, actionable answers to directly address some of the most critical problems in life sciences research, bioprocessing, pharma/biopharma, forensics and adjacent markets. The firm is headquartered in Boston, where it designs and manufactures products that bring together the power of mass spectrometry, microfluidic sampling and separations, software automation, and machine learning.
 
Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies is a medical technology company whose products, software, and services enable customers to collect and prepare blood and cells to help treat challenging diseases and conditions. Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies’ customers include blood centers, hospitals, therapeutic apheresis clinics, cell collection and processing organizations, researchers, plasma collection facilities and private medical practices. Its customers are based in more than 150 countries worldwide, and the company has over 750 granted patents to its name, with more than 150 additionally pending. Terumo BCT is based in Lakewood, Colo., but has five regional headquarters, eight manufacturing sites, and six innovation and development centers worldwide. Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies is a subsidiary of Terumo Corporation.