The newest member of our scaling team: CellScrew® mini - the entry-level solution for efficient adherent cell culture.
08.07.2024 – The innovative cell culture system CellScrew® is designed for use in the biopharmaceutical industry, combining efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability. Following the launch of the cell culture system with 6,000 and 10,000 cm² models, the system is now expanded to include an entry-level size. The CellScrew® mini, with a growth area of 850 cm², is particularly useful in the early stages of commercial cell culture and process development.
The cultivation of cells for cell and gene therapies, viral vectors, or vaccines, begins with the crucial seed-train phase, where the initial multiplication of cells before the actual production of the therapy takes place. Consistent quality and massive cell proliferation are essential to advance the production of the therapy and ultimately make it available to patients.
Switching between systems when the cultivation area of one system is reached often causes problems and leads to time-consuming and costly adjustments, with costs reaching up to $4.25 million per treatment¹. To reduce production costs associated with therapy and thereby lower overall costs, the Green Elephant has brought the cell culture system CellScrew® to the market and is currently working on an automated system based on it.
Building bridges for a smooth scaling of cultivation processes
The CellScrew® mini serves as a bridge to the larger models during process development and acts as an entry-level model for an easier transition from existing systems to the innovative, dynamic system.
The company, based in Gießen and Berlin, uses polylactic acid (PLA), a plastic made from cornstarch, for its products. Savings in CO₂ emissions due to the renewable material and reduced energy consumption during production result in a product range that offers users a real opportunity for a more sustainable approach in adherent cell cultivation. The biocompatibility of PLA makes it well-suited for laboratory applications as it is not harmful to cells, and can match the application-specific properties of its fossil predecessor.
The patented CellScrew® series: Your team for scaling adherent cell culture. CellScrew® mini comes in a bundle of three cell culture flasks and provides 850 cm² of growth surface.
Like the other members of the "Scale" team, the CellScrew® mini is manufactured using 3D printing. Earlier this year, the company established its independent industry-compliant production facility in Gießen. Additive manufacturing, already common in other industries, allows for the production of complex structures like those in the CellScrew®. For instance, the product’s internal Archimedean screws transport culture media and gas through the bottle via rotation, creating an excellent growth environment for the cells. Several concentric cylinders provide a large growth area, which, thanks to TC treatment and sterilization, is ideal for cell attachment and controlled growth.
The CellScrew® mini is available as a standard unit of three directly from the company. The first order includes an adapter for cultivating three CellScrew® mini parallel in the dimensions of a CellScrew® 6K. The CellScrew® models with 6,000 cm² (CS6K) and 10,000 cm² (CS10K) are also available through international distributors.
About Green Elephant
Green Elephant Biotech GmbH is the world's first company to develop, produce, and distribute lab consumables made from the plant-based plastic PLA. With its innovative and sustainable products, we enable the biopharmaceutical industry to make new and life-changing therapies available to patients. Green Elephant was spun off from the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen in 2021 by Felix Wollenhaupt and Dr. Joel Eichmann and currently employs 13 people in Berlin and Gießen.
Sources
Antonio Regalado (2024, March 20) There is a new most expensive drug in the world. Price tag: $4.25 million. MIT technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/03/20/1089996/there-is-a-new-most-expensive-drug-in-the-world-price-tag-4-25-million/amp/
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