Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, and biotechnology company Lyell Immunopharma are partnering to develop manufacturing processes designed to create more effective cell therapies to benefit cancer patients. The companies will work together to improve the fitness of T cells, a challenge in manufacturing cell therapies, and support Lyell with its development of an integrated yet flexible cGMP-compliant platform including reagents, consumables and instrumentation.

“Significant investment is being put toward understanding T cell biology, and Lyell has put together an impressive team to accelerate research and development that benefits the entire industry,” said Mark Stevenson, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We’re honored to join their effort, bringing complementary technology and capacity to make a difference for all patients who may benefit from cell therapies.”

“Addressing critical fail points in the development and commercialization of cell therapies requires specialized technologies and capabilities that complement our own,” said Elizabeth Homans, President, Lyell Immunopharma. “Thermo Fisher offers the ideal combination of cell manufacturing technologies and as-needed capacity to enable accelerated product development and growth.”

The intent of this strategic partnership is to gain access and insights into emerging and existing technologies to improve the robustness and consistency of manufacturing operations. This alliance also provides the opportunity for further strategic collaboration in supply chain and commercialization pathways.

Lyell is addressing the unsolved problems of creating reliable, curative adoptive cell therapy for solid tumors. Lyell brings together an unrivaled scientific team with a collection of novel technologies aimed at tackling three barriers to this unsolved challenge: redefining the cell preparations for cell-based immunotherapy; modulating T cells to maintain their functionality within the solid tumour microenvironment; and controlling the specificity and safety of solid tumour-directed T cells armed with TCRs, CARs or other targeting modalities. Together, we believe these approaches will improve the effectiveness of cell therapy for cancer.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue exceeding $25 billion. Their Mission is to enable the customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether the customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in the laboratories, the company is there to support them. The global team of more than 75,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services and Patheon.