A group of scientists develops a revolutionary cellular bioreactor
Reproducing cells is now a viable, but complicated process. This requires what is known as a clean room: a space in which environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, air flow, lighting or suspended particles are strictly controlled. In these special laboratories, cells can be multiplied, a meticulous and slow process that must be carried out by one or several professionals and that, due to the risks involved, if it is not successful (if the replicated cells are not of sufficient quality), it must be repeated from the beginning. The facilities and equipment alone to conduct these experiments cost around one million euros, not counting their maintenance and the hours of work that are needed to carry out each test.
On the hunt for ideas that change the world
When the company run by Manuel Fuertes decides to commit to a project, dedicates a minimum of half a million pounds (about 580,000 euros) and a maximum of six million (about seven million euros) to it. But it’s not easy to seduce Kiatt. “We are looking for disruptive technology that is capable of changing the rules of the game,” explains Fuertes.
Another of the projects he is working on right now, in addition to the Face cellular bioreactor, has taken him to Singapore, where he also draws part of their financial muscle thanks to wealthy families in the area. In this case, this tiny country has found a team of scientists who have developed nanolenses that allow you to see in 3D without having to wear special glasses. These nanolenses, incorporated into the screens of the devices in the form of a screen cover sticker, can be activated whenever desired.
But the application of this technology with the most future is not in 3D, but myopia. “The idea is to apply the user’s prescription to these nanolenses. We will sell these mobile stickers for ten euros,” he says enthusiastically.
All this may soon change radically. A team of Spanish scientists has developed a cellular bioreactor capable of replicating human cells automatically. What could be considered a cell photocopier, both because of the idea it entails and because of the appearance of the device. “We are convinced that it will represent an enormous advance for the development of cellular therapies and for all types of research that has to do with cells,” explains Manuel Fuertes, general director of Oxford University Innovation, the center attached to the aforementioned university that is in charge of promoting technological transfer.
When Spanish scientists Miquel Costa, David Horma and Manuel Ángel González presented their idea to him in 2013, Fuertes decided to firmly commit to it. He helped them set up the business plan and financed the development of the first prototype with one million euros. He did so through Kiatt, a London company directed by himself dedicated to “creating cutting-edge companies based on first-class scientific findings” and which is nourished by the investment of large assets from European and Asian families.
Fuertes assures that, in the case of the cell bioreactor, not only is the R&D Spanish, but the financing also comes from family offices in the country. “We have a growing portfolio of large Spanish families that are very interested in investing in science,” he points out. In the case of Aglaris, the company that formed this group of scientists and in which Kiatt participates, in 2015 it also received support from the Cross Road Biotech venture capital fund, which ended up providing the financial muscle to take the project to the finish line.
Streamlining and automating the cell multiplication process, in addition to lowering its cost (these new machines will cost 300,000 euros), represents a great advance, for example, for stem cell research. Having a large number of high-quality cells will avoid interruptions for researchers. It will also provide oxygen to hospitals, where more and more work is being done with cell therapies, and to treat diseases that until today have no cure.
• New applications
But the possibilities of this new device would not end there. “Cell multiplication also applies to the bioinks used by 3D printers. “We want to position ourselves as the first producer of bioinks,” says Fuertes. Another commercial outlet that they also do not lose sight of is that of synthetic meat, a product that is said to be able to contribute to democratizing food. “The bioreactor has the potential to become a meat factory”, says this transfer expert.
The first five units of the Facer prototype (that’s what the photocopier is called), ordered by research centers and hospitals, will be delivered in 2018.
