SPECIAL REPORT
By Blake Dillon
ONTARIO
McMaster University’s state-of-the-art project centre promises groundbreaking advances in manufacturing of cell therapies and diagnostics The cell therapy industry, while still emerging, holds enormous potential for advances in the delivery of health care, according to experts in the field. McMaster immunologist, Jonathan Bramson, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Translational Cancer Immunology, is one of those experts. He’s also McMaster’s inaugural scientific director of BEAM – the Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing Project Centre. BEAM, the first facility of its kind in Canada, will make its home at the McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton, Ontario, and add to the Park’s dynamic portfolio of research and development facilities. The unique, multi-disciplinary facility will engage both industrial and academic researchers. Already a global leader in life sciences and advanced manufacturing, McMaster researchers have bridged these two areas of expertise to develop a new strategic area of manufacturing instrumentation for cell therapies and point of care diagnostics. Together with German-based Fraunhofer IZI, McMaster is developing a multi-year research partnership that will focus on automation of scalable processes for GMP manufacturing of cell therapies, development of next-generation cell therapies and point-of-care diagnostics. Currently, the production of cell therapies requires a highly sophisticated and highly regulated process that is labour intensive. A key aspect to the manufacture of cell therapies is the availability of diagnostics to monitor the cell production, characterize the potency of the resultant cell product and monitor the cells once they have been infused into patients. BEAM’s goal is to simplify the manufacturing process to enable the production of cell therapies in environments that lack an extensive research infrastructure and to develop companion diagnostics that allow easy characterization of the cell product and evaluation of the cells’ activity in the patient. Essentially, the centre plans to enable the broad implementation of personalized cell therapies. Instruments developed at BEAM will facilitate the production of cell therapies, which requires the removal of cells from individual patients followed by optimization of the cell function in the laboratory prior to returning the cells to the patient. BEAM scientists envision the creation of all-in-one instruments that can complete the manufacturing, in a quick, easy, clean, and government-regulated process, all under the same conditions that regular medicine is manufactured. Collectively, McMaster and Fraunhofer IZI researchers are combining their experiences and knowledge to build these instruments. And, given the global reach of cell therapies, Bramson believes there will be a strong market for these instruments.
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Biotechnology Focus / June/July 2014
Jonathan Bramson, McMaster’s inaugural scientific director of BEAM
“We’re working to design instruments and software that are user-friendly, ready to be installed in clinical centres that lack sophisticated expertise in cell therapy,” says Bramson, noting the industry is very new and the methods and rules for manufacturing are still being defined. While the science behind cell therapies is moving rapidly, the technology to accommodate mass manufacturing is lagging. That’s what has attracted the attention of a number partners and investors in BEAM, including Fraunhofer IZI, the Province of Ontario and City of Hamilton. After two years of ongoing discussions and visits, leaders at Fraunhofer-IZI decided on McMaster as a natural partner for the lab. “Having visited McMaster University twice, learning firsthand about their research capabilities, and seeing some of their world-class facilities, we know this is an institute with which we have much in common,” says Frank Emmrich, Director of Fraunhofer-IZI. The Province of Ontario and the City of Hamilton have invested $4 million each toward the development of the Project Centre, recognizing their investments will provide both health and economic benefits.
SPECIAL REPORT
A look at a few McMaster Research Institutes working with BEAM The McMaster Immunology Research Centre (MIRC) This massive, 36,000-square foot facility occupies two floors of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, and is home to 12 principal investigators, five research associates, 108 research trainees and 33 research technicians. Collectively, they’re developing novel immunotherapies for cancer, allergy, infectious disease, and chronic inflammation. Much of this work will be commercialized at BEAM. mirc.mcmaster.ca
The Biointerfaces Institute (BI) Using the latest technologies in high-throughput synthesis and screening, the $22M Institute allows researchers to rationally and rapidly develop new biomaterials, ultimately accelerating the development of better biosensors and better medical implants. Proximity and access to this technology is critical to develop the required sophisticated sensor technologies at BEAM. biointerfaces.mcmaster.ca
The McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI) One of Canada’s most advanced and best-equipped research laboratories, the MMRI is approaching 15 years of success in the research manufacturing industry, helping manufacturers meet their R&D needs. Its proven track record in process development makes it an ideal resource for BEAM researchers. mmri.mcmaster.ca
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Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, Dr. Eric Hoskins, confirmed this as he announced the provincial investment at McMaster University in April. “We are pleased to support McMaster University and the Fraunhofer Institute. By investing in this initiative, we are helping to create jobs, attract top talent to the region, and keep Ontario at the forefront of scientific discovery.” It’s estimated the new facility will create more than 75 jobs and significant spin-off opportunities. Bramson expects the centre will attract start-up companies who are keen to access state-ofthe-art equipment, infrastructure and expertise in addition to established companies who will benefit from the same, while testing their products in clinical trials with McMaster’s partner hospitals. Already there is talk of more than a half dozen international companies opening subsidiaries close to BEAM, and more than a dozen North American companies with an interest in partnering. “Personalized medicine represents the future of health care,” says Bramson. “BEAM will be the catalyst for the development of the necessary technologies and, ultimately, the creator of major innovations in cell manufacturing.”
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