Cytiva has launched the ‘Exosome Challenge,’ designed to overcome hurdles in exosome production and manufacturing. The challenge will focus on the standard workflow, in three focus areas: cell engineering, process development and purification.
In cell engineering, the task will be to develop technologies to engineer cell lines that can produce exosomes with specific cargo. In process development, the task is to create novel culture systems, media, reagents and analytics needed to develop robust processes. For purification, the task is to streamline exosome purification and reduce drug product loss during downstream processing.
The winning proposal will receive an award of up to a $100,000 in services and support from Cytiva’s Fast Trak team to advance its ideas.
Catarina Flyborg, VP, Cell and Gene Therapy, said: “Collaboration is key to advancing novel therapeutics. While we have had a lot of success with CAR T, we must always be working to identify and develop the next generation of therapies.”
Applicants from universities, academic research centres, institutes, and biotechnology companies, within the US and Canada, may submit proposals until March 5, 2021. Finalists will be chosen at the end of Q2 2021. All submissions will be judged on relevancy and their potential to meet future technology needs and challenges. The winner will have access to Cytiva’s Fast Trak services and experts for support on their project.
Exosomes are nanosized particles that have the potential to deliver drugs, proteins, and various nucleic acids to disease targets. While CAR T has driven a lot of industry growth, exosomes are showing promise for drug delivery, such as mRNA based therapies, Cytiva says.
