Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, has introduced the Gibco™ CTS™ OpTmizer™ One Serum-Free Medium (CTS OpTmizer One SFM)*, a novel animal origin-free (AOF) formulation designed specifically for clinical and commercial cell therapy manufacturing to deliver increased scalability and performance of T cell expansion. As a result, cell therapy manufacturers can use CTS OpTmizer One SFM to help optimize their workflows and get T cell therapies to patients faster.

CTS OpTmizer One SFM’s ready-to-use, one-part medium can help cell therapy manufacturers scale their manufacturing from process development to clinical trials and commercial manufacturing while maintaining consistent performance. As part of the cell expansion process, CTS OpTmizer One SFM delivers high cell viability, improved growth and maintains early memory T cell phenotype. In addition, the AOF formulation can help in mitigating risk by reducing opportunities for contamination or inconsistency due to animal-origin (AO) components.

The ability to more-rapidly expand less-differentiated T cells to reach a desired dose can help manufacturers shorten the time to treatment, lower manufacturing costs, increase patient access, and enhance therapeutic efficacy.

OpTmizer One SFM’s ready-to-use, one-part medium advances T cell expansion and cell growth while helping cell therapy manufacturers improve overall drug function for both autologous and allogeneic therapies, when compared to other leading AOF T cell media.

“CAR T-cell therapies have emerged as a highly impactful treatment option for blood cancers, helping cure patients who have not responded to traditional therapies,” said Tiffani Manolis, vice president and general manager of Thermo Fisher’s Cell Culture and Cell Therapy business. “CTS OpTmizer One SFM and our entire Cell Therapy Systems portfolio of products were designed to help cell therapy manufacturers overcome speed, safety and cost challenges to help realize the true potential of these therapies and give new hope to patients around the world.”

Workflows featuring CTS OpTmizer One SFM display a high level of consistency across small and large scales and various culture vessels, such as G‑Rex™ plates, rocking motion bioreactors and stirred tank bioreactors. This flexibility allows CTS OpTmizer One SFM to be leveraged in both autologous and allogeneic workflows. Available as a catalog product in 1 L bottles and 1 L, 5 L, and 10 L bioprocess containers, CTS OpTmizer One SFM is compatible with closed automated instruments such as the Gibco™ CTS™ DynaCellect™ Magnetic Separation System and the Gibco™ CTS™ Rotea Counterflow Centrifugation System.

The CTS OpTmizer One SFM expands Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Gibco Cell Therapy Systems (CTS) portfolio of products. Individually and as a platform, the Gibco CTS portfolio deliver flexibility, efficiency, productivity and scalability across the cell therapy manufacturing workflow. The Gibco CTS portfolio of cell and gene therapy products are GMP manufactured, safety tested and backed by regulatory documentation to help customers transition from discovery through clinical and commercial manufacturing.