A multi-million-pound life sciences facility which manufactures organoids is putting Cardiff at the heart of a global first for innovations around drug discovery.
Molecular Devices is the only company to offer a service to manufacture organoids, at a scale of many millions per batch, in an industrial environment.
It is due to officially launch its new manufacturing facility in Coryton, Cardiff, which will use the firm’s bioreactor technology to manufacture miniature 3D models of human organ tissue, known as ‘organoids’. These are grown from human stem cells for research into diseases and for drug development.
Cardiff and Bath Universities pioneered the industrialisation of organoid research through start-up biotech company Cellesce, which was acquired by US-based Molecular Devices.
The company says the new manufacturing facility aligns with the Welsh Manufacturing Action plan and the UK Government’s Life Sciences Vision. The UK’s life sciences industry conducts world-leading research and is worth more than £94 billion to the economy.
By scaling up 3D organoid production in Cardiff for worldwide distribution, the firm is opening the door to the next generation of drug discovery.
Business News Wales spoke to Victoria Marsh-Durban, director of custom organoid services and site lead for the new facility, about the academic and industrial collaboration which brought about such a ground-breaking development.
