Cambridge, UK, 14:00, 5 December 2023: bit.bio, the company coding human cells for novel cures, today welcomed the UK’s Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation to its headquarters on Babraham Research Campus to officially open its new manufacturing and automation laboratories.
bit.bio has doubled the size of its laboratory footprint as it continues to expand its ability to discover, develop and manufacture any human cell type with consistency at scale. The laboratories opened by the Minister today feature a fully-automated solution for a key aspect of bit.bio’s cell manufacturing process. This first step in automation will increase bit.bio’s capacity to manufacture human cell products by quadrupling manufacturing output.
bit.bio’s precision cellular reprogramming technology opti-ox™ is ideally suited for automation because it enables the deterministic manufacture of human cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with unprecedented consistency. The manufacturing automation solution was created in collaboration with Automata, a leading UK robotics and automation company.
"bit.bio's work producing human cells for research, drug discovery and cell therapies can transform future healthcare and its expanded facility to scale up their operation is another boost for the UK’s leading engineering biology sector. It is also a welcome opportunity to launch the Government’s National Vision for Engineering Biology to backing this critical technology with £2 billion of investment that can drive more pioneering discoveries – from improving our health to developing sustainable fuels that protect our planet and beyond."
The Minister also toured bit.bio’s full laboratory facilities for the end-to-end production of any human cell type. These facilities range from functional genomics, for the discovery and screening of cell identity, through cell type development, where bit.bio’s opti-ox programmed cells are characterised and initial prototypes generated.
The tour ended with the ribbon cutting ceremony to formally open the new manufacturing and automation laboratories.
"We were delighted to welcome Minister Griffith today to officially open our new manufacturing and automation laboratories. It’s an honour to be the company that he visits as the Government announces its £2 billion Vision to support our industry and confirm that engineering biology is a key part of the future growth, and health, of the United Kingdom. We are proud to pioneer an engineering approach to biology that enables us to reprogram and manufacture our human cells with unrivalled consistency, functionality and scale. Our mission remains to democratise access to human cells. And with our newly-expanded laboratories to support our ambitions, the potential for our technology to revolutionise scientific research, drug discovery and cell therapies is limitless."