Released: Thursday 3rd June 2021

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

Cellexus receive grant to expand product range

Dundee-based firm, Cellexus, will receive a grant of up to £320,000 from Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, for the research and development of a 100L bioreactor for stem cell applications.
Cellexus’ existing range of patented airlift, single-use bioreactors includes the CellMaker Systems: Regular, Low Flow and Plus - created for microbial fermentation, bacteriophage amplification and mammalian cell cultures. These Controllers are paired with an Enclosure, currently available in 8L or 50L.
The grant will fund the Research and Development of a bioreactor designed to effectively produce stem cells, making it the first airlift, single-use bioreactor on the market made for this application. As well as a new controller for the 100L Enclosure, new bioreactor bags will also be developed to offer working volumes from 1L to 100L across the full range of bioreactors.
The project, primarily targeting Stem Cell Therapy and the Clean Meat industry, is expected to take 18 months before being launched.
This project is co-funded by the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK, who drive productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.
“We have been working with a number of organisations to test suitability of the CellMaker for production of stem cells and we discovered there is a real challenge of manufacturing at scale that needs a solution. This has created a bottleneck in important industries, such as regenerative medicine, drug screening and biomedical research. We know our airlift, single-use technology is the answer, and this funding is essential to our expansion into this area. A massive thank you to Innovate UK, without whom we couldn’t consider embarking on such a large project at this time.”
Gavin Hands, CEO, Cellexus
ENDS
For more information, please contact Lisa Tait, Marketing Manager, on lisa@cellexus.com.

Notes to editor:

Cellexus
Cellexus International Ltd was formed in 2017 and is based in Dundee, Scotland. Cellexus research, develop and manufacture the CellMaker range of revolutionary single-use, airlift bioreactor systems and related technology.
The most innovative airlift technology on the market, the CellMaker system offers a reduced investment alternative to existing technologies with a combined low footprint and excellent performance. The CellMaker bioreactors are available in 8L and 50L and the option of fitted sensors for pH and dissolved oxygen to enhance process control, maximise yields and reduce time to market. The CellMaker range is designed to be versatile and has been proven in a wide range of cell lines (E Coli, Pichia, Bacteriophage, Yeast, Algae) for fermentation applications used in the life sciences and biopharmaceutical industries. We enable our customers to accelerate their processes and increase their yields when compared to standard methods.
www.cellexus.com

Innovate UK
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.
We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth.
We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions.
Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation. For more information visit www.innovateuk.ukri.org.