Solving cell therapy manufacturing bottlenecks: evaluating closed and automated approaches

Cell therapy manufacturing continues to face critical hurdles—contamination risk, manual interventions, and scalability in a strict regulatory environment. This session brings together independent insights with peer experiences to examine how closed and automated approaches can help overcome these bottlenecks. Charles River Laboratories will share real-world lessons from evaluating such solutions, followed by a panel of industry experts discussing decision criteria, validation frameworks, and strategies to accelerate adoption. Attendees will gain practical, evidence-based perspectives to guide improvements in their own manufacturing operations.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Part 1 (10-15 min): Short presentation from Charles River Laboratories sharing their evaluation of our modular Sefia cell therapy manufacturing platform versus a competing automated all-in-one instrument.  

Part 2 (30 min): Panel discussion with customers discussing their biggest pain points and how they evaluate solutions for closure, automation, and compliance.

• What aspects of cell therapy manufacturing are most vulnerable to contamination, error or variability—and why closure and automation are critical?
• When evaluating closed and automated solutions, what criteria matter most to you?
  What evidence or validation do you require before adopting these solutions?
• What are the key considerations for companies looking to scale up or out to support clinical trials and/or manufacturing
• At what stage in your clinical development should you start considering digital/automation
• What new regulatory challenges are you facing?
• Looking ahead, how do you see closed and automated platforms shaping the future of cell therapy manufacturing?