Astraveus develops the Lakhesys Benchtop Cell Factory, an automated microfluidic platform for end-to-end cell therapy manufacturing. Its technology aims to reduce the established 100k-dollar per dose costs and lengthy processing times by an order of magnitude, making cell-therapies more accessible.
Why does gene therapy for cancer treatment need a new approach, and how did Astraveus grow out of that concept?
Many promising cell and gene therapies exist, particularly for liquid tumors, solid tumors, and autoimmunity, but they are expensive and resource intensive. Currently, manufacturing these therapies is costly, risky, and limited in scale, creating a bottleneck in accessibility. I saw a need for better engineering tools to advance the field. That is how the idea began—creating a biological computer or a modular system to process cells and manufacture therapies more efficiently.
The idea was to first apply this to cell therapy to reduce costs and increase scalability, which is crucial for bringing these innovations to more patients. Right now, we are in the final development stages for this compact, modular, end-to-end system – so it is not commercially available yet. But the enthusiasm from both large and small players who want to partner and test our technology is very encouraging.
The resulting system is the Benchtop Cell Factory. Can you describe how its results compare to standard cell manufacturing practice?
The core idea is to create a benchtop system, about six feet long, that replicates the capabilities of a 400-square-meter pharmaceutical manufacturing plant with 20 people. Our modeling shows that this system can enable 10 times more therapies with the same investment and workforce, while reducing per-dose costs by a factor of 10. Today, setting up manufacturing for these therapies requires billion-dollar-scale investments and thousands of employees. Essentially, it is a highly miniaturized and automated manufacturing plant for cell therapies.
The industry still relies on old technologies originally developed for blood banking and dialysis, which are not optimized for cell therapy. Our approach is fundamentally different because we use microfluidic technology—akin to how microelectronics revolutionized computing. Just as Richard Feynman once said about microelectronics, "There is plenty of space at the bottom.” The ability to work at a smaller scale is powerful. It allows us to improve efficiency and control conditions more precisely, while handling therapies for multiple patients in parallel. The system covers everything from initial cell collection to final product manufacturing and quality control.
How might that degree of miniaturization and automation impact the workforce model in companies that adopt this technology?
The talent pool for cell therapy is very limited, and pharmaceutical companies struggle to build and maintain factories with thousands of qualified employees. Many of these professionals are not satisfied with repetitive manual processes.
With our technology, instead of spending two weeks to generate a single data point in research, employees can analyze multiple conditions simultaneously with automated, high-quality analytics. The same principle applies to manufacturing: it enables faster ramp-up times and higher production without the immense investments and staffing previously required. Rather than reducing jobs, we hope to fuel a virtuous cycle where more successful cell therapies attract more investment, pushing the entire field forward.
There is a gulf between wealthier and poorer countries in terms of ease of access to cell therapies. What steps are already being taken to address that, and how do you envisage Astraveus participating?
Access to cell therapies varies widely by geography. A striking example is Canada: after CAR-T therapies were approved in the U.S., it took over two years for Canadian patients to gain local access. In the meantime, those who could afford it had to travel to the U.S. for treatment. Generally, wealthier countries and larger populations gain access first, while smaller or less affluent regions face delays. This is a major issue, particularly since diseases like multiple myeloma and sickle cell disease disproportionately affect populations in poorer regions.
To make cell therapies more accessible, costs must be drastically reduced, and decentralized manufacturing must be developed—similar to efforts made for mRNA vaccines. Initiatives like the Caring Cross Foundation’s work to enable affordable CAR-T access in Brazil are steps in the right direction, but more must be done. Our technology can contribute by integrating automation and quality control into decentralized setups, ensuring that therapies remain safe and consistent across different locations.
How is the science advancing in cell therapies for cancer treatment?
Regarding cancer, we are seeing promising signs, especially in solid tumors. Scientific understanding is advancing rapidly, clinical trial outcomes are improving, and in just the last year, there have been encouraging results in glioblastoma, prostate, ovarian, and liver cancers, particularly cases with lung metastases. The ceiling has not been broken yet, but I strongly believe we are on the right track.
Beside novel cell therapies, what established therapies do you anticipate the Benchtop Cell Factory will impact when it is commercialized?
Already, it can be highly relevant in therapies for blood cancers and autoimmune diseases. We are still far from being able to treat all the patients who could benefit, especially in less wealthy countries.
In the future, as more indications emerge, demand will rise even further, potentially requiring even more advanced manufacturing capacity. That is why large pharmaceutical companies are already interested in our technology—it is not just for future breakthroughs but also for optimizing and scaling treatments that are already showing success in clinical settings today.
What is the timeline for commercialization?
We have just reached a major milestone in demonstrating that our technology works. Now, we are transitioning from R&D into preparing for commercial launch.
The big focus for 2025 will be to initiate beta testing with our prototype. This phase will bring us to full-scale, real-world use under conditions similar to final deployment – a critical step toward ensuring the technology is robust and ready for broad adoption. We are eager to see how this next phase unfolds and how our technology begins making an impact in the field.
