NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[hyperopia]

Hi Chiugray, first, I should say that, as sharpie pointed out, I read the PR wrong about the Flaskworks system being upgraded and its ability to manufacture 10-12 treatments at the same time. I think the system can still only manufacture one patient’s treatment at a time (10-12 doses).

At some point, (maybe in 1-2 years) the system will be industrialized, with the ability to produce multiple patient’s treatments at the same time, as I wrote in that post.

I think you have the right idea, but maybe not exactly. To clarify, only the first two steps are processed by the Flaskworks system; the fill and finish step is still separate. I think this will be accomplished as the patent language states; within one system that has multiple (let’s say 10), individual centrifuges (for cell selection) connected to multiple (10) cell culturing chambers (cartridges) so that each patient’s treatments are separated and processed individually, but run simultaneously in the Flaskworks system by the facility’s manufacturing execution system’s software. Another factor to consider is that the culturing process is normally conducted in an incubator, to control conditions, (98F or 37C and 5% CO2) but I’m unsure how that would be handled.

There are a few other closed, automated cell therapy manufacturing systems out there that I’ve posted about before, the Cell Shuttle from Cellares, and the Cocoon from Lonza.

Recently, CellQuest introduced a new industrialized system that’s capable of producing 10-12 cell therapy treatments at a time. (like I thought Flaskworks could)
This CosyNest system was first introduced a few months ago, and went from startup to commercial readiness in under 3 years, which proves what can be accomplished with proper resourcing and experience. (Flaskworks take note) They call it a mini-factory, and claim it can produce 6,000 CAR-T treatments a year in under a 300 square foot space. Although it’s geared toward CAR-T manufacturing, you might gain some insights from this article about it:

Automated CAR-T Manufacturing Moves toward the Marketplace
By Vivienne Raper, PhD -
January 31, 2024
https://www.genengnews.com/topics/bioprocessing/automated-car-t-manufacturing-moves-toward-the-marketplace/

This article has some good pictures just to give you a visual idea of parallel processing multiple treatments in one system:

Integrating Ancillary Systems – A Bridge to Closed Cell Therapy Manufacturing Processes

https://www.invetechgroup.com/insights/2021/05/integrating-ancillary-systems-cell-therapy-manufacturing/