Plasticell has announced that the Technology Strategy Board has made a further investment in the Company’s flagship technology, CombiCult™, the high throughput technology designed to solve the major bottleneck in stem cell research and development.

The Technology Strategy Board will provide a grant of approximately £750k towards a £1.5 million project entitled ‘High Throughput Platform for the Discovery of GMP-Compatible Stem Cell Manufacturing Protocols’. The project will be performed by a research consortium led by Plasticell and will include the special health authority NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), Cell Guidance Systems Limited and LGC Limited.

The high cost of goods, difficulty of scale-up for biomanufacturing and need to ensure regulatory compliance are critical problems in the development of cellular therapies. This new project will tackle these challenges to deliver an integrated platform for the rapid identification of novel, optimised stem cell expansion and differentiation protocols that are easily translated to clinical grade manufacturing. The consortium will also develop technologies to address QC issues in the scale-up and manufacturing process.

Commenting on the award, Dennis Saw, Chief Executive of Plasticell, said: “Over the past five years, Plasticell has secured eight grants from Technology Strategy Board technology competitions. The awards have provided funding for projects costing over £6.2 million and recognise Plasticell’s innovation and consistent position at the cutting edge of stem cell research and the industry.”