Univercells and University of Pennsylvania Expand Agreement for Gene Therapy Program

Editor's note: this story was originally published in BioPharmInternational.com.

Univercells Technologies, a Donaldson company, has expanded its evaluation agreement with the University of Pennsylvania's Gene Therapy Program (GTP). The collaborators will determine the scalability of GTP’s gene therapy product manufacturing with bioreactors provided by Univercells Technologies.

Under the expanded agreement, GTP will evaluate Univercells Technologies’ commercial- series bioreactor (scale-X nitro 600 m2 bioreactor). The evaluation is aimed at significantly increasing production per batch and potentially reducing cost of goods sold, according to a July 16, 2024 company press release.

“We are honored to extend our collaborative work with GTP in evaluating the scalability of gene therapy production,” said Mathias Garny, general manager, Univercells Technologies, in the press release. “Our mission aligns closely with GTP’s vision of making gene therapies more accessible globally, and we are committed to supporting their efforts with our innovative bioprocessing technologies.”

Under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Grand Challenge initiative, Univercells Technologies developed the scale-X bioreactor, which was originally designed to lower the cost of viral vaccine production for critical public health vaccines. Through the GTP collaboration, this bioreactor will now be applied to viral vector manufacturing to enable accessibility of gene therapies.

“Our hope is that Univercells Technologies will improve the efficiency of AAV vector manufacturing and help play a role in decreasing costs and enabling access through more affordable prices in the future,” said James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, the Rose H. Weiss professor and director of the Orphan Disease Center, and a professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, in the press release.

GTP is an academic program focused on genetic medicines. It is led by Wilson and is well known for its pioneering work in gene therapy. The program specializes in increasing the accessibility of gene therapies for rare diseases to patients worldwide.

Univercells Technologies became a part of Donaldson through an acquisition in June 2023. Through a €136 million (US$148 million at the time of acquisition) transaction, Donaldson gained Univercells Technologies, including that company’s product line, which includes the scale-X single-use structured fixed-bed bioreactor as well as NevoLine, Univercells Technologies’ automated upstream platform.

In the June 29, 2023 press release, Tod Carpenter, chairman, president, and CEO, Donaldson said, “The acquisition of Univercells Technologies represents an important next step in Donaldson’s life sciences strategy, as we continue to expand our product portfolio aimed at providing customers with a comprehensive, differentiated offering. Univercells Technologies’ engineered systems provide close adjacencies with our previous life sciences acquisitions as well as with our growing organic product suite.”

Donaldson provides filtration products and solutions for complex filtration challenges. It comprises three primary segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences.

Reference

1. Univercells Technologies. Donaldson Acquires Univercells Technologies, Broadens Life Sciences Reach. Press Release, June 29, 2023.

Source: Donaldson Company