Multiply Labs used cobots to ship breakthrough leads to the manufacturing of cell therapies. Supply: Common Robots
Precision drugs, wherein advanced therapies for most cancers and different circumstances are customized, is often expensive, limiting affected person entry to care. Multiply Labs Inc. has developed a “robotic biomanufacturing cluster” that it stated can scale back the price of life-saving cell therapies by 74%.
“Traditionally, cell and gene remedy manufacturing has been guide, nearly artisanal,” stated Fred Parietti, CEO of Multiply Labs. “Skilled scientists carry out a whole lot of duties by hand, from pipetting to shaking cells.”
San Francisco-based Multiply Labs has developed cloud-controlled automated methods for the manufacturing of individualized medicine at scale. Its workforce contains mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, laptop scientists, software program engineers, and pharmaceutical scientists.
The firm stated its clients embody a few of largest international organizations within the superior pharmaceutical manufacturing house.
Personalized therapies want exact manufacturing
Customized cell therapies are sometimes used to deal with blood cancers reminiscent of lymphoma and leukemia. Not like mass-produced medicine, they require a personalized dose from every affected person’s personal cells, making large-batch manufacturing not possible. Such therapies are presently priced between $300,000 and $2 million per dose.
As well as, a single microbial contamination can render the complete product unusable, resulting in expensive manufacturing failures.
Multiply Labs selected Common Robots A/S (UR) for its modular biomanufacturing cluster after intently evaluating a number of totally different collaborative robotic arms.
“UR was chosen attributable to their essential six-axis capabilities, unmatched drive mode for delicate dealing with, seamless software program integration, sturdy group help, and cleanroom compatibility,” stated Nadia Kreciglowa, head of robotics at Multiply Labs.
Editor’s word: RoboBusiness 2025, which can be on Oct. 15 and 16 in Santa Clara, Calif., will embody tracks on bodily AI, enabling applied sciences, and design and growth finest practices. It is going to be co-located with medical gadget occasion DeviceTalks West, and registration is now open.
UR cobots can replicate intricate processes
As printed in peer-reviewed research with the College of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Multiply Labs used a number of UR cobots working in parallel, stacked ground to ceiling with collision avoidance, to deal with the complete cell remedy manufacturing course of.
The brand new partnership, Common Robots’ first within the cell and gene remedy sector, illustrates the good potential of collaborative robots in healthcare, in keeping with Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of Odense, Denmark-based UR, a Teradyne firm.
“By empowering Multiply Labs to copy intricate guide processes with excessive precision and scale, our cobots are redefining effectivity in pharmaceutical manufacturing,” he said. “Extra importantly, it’s driving vital price reductions whereas broadening entry to life-saving therapies. At its core, this partnership is a testomony to how robotics can elevate human functionality and serve important wants in drugs.”
Multiply Labs makes use of imitation studying for course of constancy
Multiply Labs cited its imitation studying expertise as enabling robots study from knowledgeable human demonstrations moderately than dictating new processes.
“We ask the pharmaceutical firms that we work with to videotape their scientists performing the duties,” defined Parietti. “We then feed this information to the robots, and the robots study to successfully replicate what scientists had been doing within the lab, simply extra effectively, extra repeatably, 24/7, and in parallel.”
He added that this method permits the UR cobots to “self-learn a whole lot of latest duties” with exponentially decrease engineering prices.
Multiply Labs’ system faithfully replicates guide processes with enhanced effectivity, repeatability, and sanitary circumstances, in keeping with the companions. This course of constancy can also be essential for regulatory compliance, probably saving a long time and billions of {dollars} in re-approval prices by replicating current, already accepted processes, stated Dr. Jonathan Esensten, director of the Superior Biotherapy Middle at Sheba Medical Middle.
“As a substitute of ranging from sq. zero when it comes to drug approval, firms can now doc that that is the very same manufacturing course of. It simply occurs to be carried out by a robotic.” he famous. Dr. Esensten, a former member of the UCSF school, labored with Multiply Labs to develop the system.
Multiply Labs makes use of imitation studying to coach robots how you can do new duties. Supply: Common Robots
Multiply Labs reduces prices, house utilization, contamination
“After we in contrast a standard guide manufacturing course of for these cell therapies to a robotic course of doing the very same course of, we discovered a value discount of roughly 74%,” stated Esensten. “Rising T cells is one thing that we’ve got been doing for a very long time, however to have the robotic system do it with none human fingers touching the cells all through the method, that could be a quantum leap when it comes to with the ability to manufacture these medicines at a decrease price and in a smaller house.”
Along with price financial savings, the robotic system can drastically enhance house utilization, Parietti stated. It could liberate sufficient house to retailer as much as 100x extra affected person doses per sq. foot of cleanroom in contrast with a typical guide course of. High quality and sterility are additionally considerably enhanced, he stated.
“Robots don’t breathe, they usually don’t contact stuff they’re not supposed to the touch,” noticed the Multiply Labs CEO.
“Whereas human dealing with led to contamination in a single case, we didn’t see any contamination within the robotic course of,” stated Dr. Esensten in reference to the UCSF examine.
The Multiply Labs robotic cluster is already deployed at international pharmaceutical firms with outcomes now additionally documented in collaboration with scientists at Stanford College.
“It will actually change the best way we take into consideration the manufacturing of those bespoke, customized cell and gene therapies for sufferers,” stated Parietti. “We are going to finally enhance affected person entry globally by decreasing manufacturing prices, enabling distributed manufacturing worldwide of those life-saving therapies.”
