100 + INNOVATIONS
Making Chimeric Antigen Receptor( CAR) T-Cell Therapy Affordable
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Microbioreactor streamlines CAR T-cell therapy by decentralising, miniaturising and reducing cost, time and complexity
Pilot Project
Lab validated
Challenge
CAR T-cell therapy offers superior outcomes in advanced cancers but costs more than AU $ 400k per dose, limiting access. Microfluidic manufacturing technology aims to reduce costs dramatically, enabling broader patient access and addressing urgent global demand for scalable, GMP-compliant cell and gene therapy solutions.
Solution
This project enables scalable CAR T-cell therapy manufacturing through two innovations: lowcost, disposable microfluidics made from biocompatible plastics via compression molding and roll-to-roll processing, replacing expensive GMP disposables; and decentralised, scale-out production using compact microbioreactors at clinical sites. These advances reduce costs, infrastructure needs and turnaround times – from four weeks to six days – supporting broader access and the potential to treat tens of thousands of patients annually.
Target customers / end-users
• patients – faster, more affordable access to lifesaving CAR T-cell therapy
• hospitals – onsite, decentralised manufacturing reduces logistics and infrastructure costs
• biotech / pharma – scalable, GMP-compliant platform for cell and gene therapy production.
Progress
• received AU $ 3.5m in funding
• pilot studies: demonstration of CAR-T cell manufacturing process
• validation: development of an automated microfluidic bioreactor manufacture process.
TRL 5
Multidisciplinary team
Advanced Manufacturing, Materials & Design
This team has developed microfluidic technology that automates CAR T-cell manufacturing by replacing labour-intensive steps, such as cell isolation, gene modification, and expansion. This streamlined platform enables scalable, personalised cell therapy production, increasing global treatment capacity from 10,000 to 100,000 patients annually and improving access to life-saving immunotherapies.
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