
Multiply Labs used cobots to ship breakthrough leads to the manufacturing of cell therapies. Supply: Common Robots
Precision drugs, during which advanced remedies for most cancers and different situations are customized, is often expensive, limiting affected person entry to care. Multiply Labs Inc. has developed a “robotic biomanufacturing cluster” that it mentioned can cut back the price of life-saving cell therapies by 74%.
“Traditionally, cell and gene remedy manufacturing has been handbook, nearly artisanal,” mentioned Fred Parietti, CEO of Multiply Labs. “Professional scientists carry out tons of of duties by hand, from pipetting to shaking cells.”
San Francisco-based Multiply Labs has developed cloud-controlled automated programs for the manufacturing of individualized medication at scale. Its staff consists of mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, laptop scientists, software program engineers, and pharmaceutical scientists.
The firm mentioned its prospects embrace a few of largest international organizations within the superior pharmaceutical manufacturing house.
Custom-made therapies want exact manufacturing
Customized cell therapies are sometimes used to deal with blood cancers akin to lymphoma and leukemia. Not like mass-produced medication, they require a personalized dose from every affected person’s personal cells, making large-batch manufacturing unattainable. Such therapies are at the moment priced between $300,000 and $2 million per dose.
As well as, a single microbial contamination can render your entire product unusable, resulting in expensive manufacturing failures.
Multiply Labs selected Common Robots A/S (UR) for its modular biomanufacturing cluster after carefully evaluating a number of totally different collaborative robotic arms.
“UR was chosen on account of their essential six-axis capabilities, unequalled pressure mode for delicate dealing with, seamless software program integration, strong group assist, and cleanroom compatibility,” mentioned Nadia Kreciglowa, head of robotics at Multiply Labs.
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UR cobots can replicate intricate processes
As printed in peer-reviewed research with the College of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Multiply Labs used a number of UR cobots working in parallel, stacked flooring to ceiling with collision avoidance, to deal with your entire cell remedy manufacturing course of.
The brand new partnership, Common Robots’ first within the cell and gene remedy sector, illustrates the good potential of collaborative robots in healthcare, in keeping with Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of Odense, Denmark-based UR, a Teradyne firm.
“By empowering Multiply Labs to copy intricate handbook processes with excessive precision and scale, our cobots are redefining effectivity in pharmaceutical manufacturing,” he said. “Extra importantly, it’s driving vital price reductions whereas broadening entry to life-saving remedies. At its core, this partnership is a testomony to how robotics can elevate human functionality and serve important wants in drugs.”
Multiply Labs makes use of imitation studying for course of constancy
Multiply Labs cited its imitation studying expertise as enabling robots be taught from skilled human demonstrations reasonably than dictating new processes.
“We ask the pharmaceutical corporations that we work with to videotape their scientists performing the duties,” defined Parietti. “We then feed this information to the robots, and the robots be taught to successfully replicate what scientists had been doing within the lab, simply extra effectively, extra repeatably, 24/7, and in parallel.”
He added that this method permits the UR cobots to “self-learn tons of of latest duties” with exponentially decrease engineering prices.
Multiply Labs’ system faithfully replicates handbook processes with enhanced effectivity, repeatability, and sanitary situations, in keeping with the companions. This course of constancy can be essential for regulatory compliance, probably saving many years and billions of {dollars} in re-approval prices by replicating present, already permitted processes, mentioned Dr. Jonathan Esensten, director of the Superior Biotherapy Heart at Sheba Medical Heart.
“As an alternative of ranging from sq. zero by way of drug approval, corporations can now doc that that is the very same manufacturing course of. It simply occurs to be performed by a robotic.” he famous. Dr. Esensten, a former member of the UCSF college, labored with Multiply Labs to develop the system.

Multiply Labs makes use of imitation studying to coach robots easy methods to do new duties. Supply: Common Robots
Multiply Labs reduces prices, house utilization, contamination
“After we in contrast a conventional handbook manufacturing course of for these cell therapies to a robotic course of doing the very same course of, we discovered a price discount of roughly 74%,” mentioned Esensten. “Rising T cells is one thing that we’ve been doing for a very long time, however to have the robotic system do it with none human fingers touching the cells all through the method, that could be a quantum leap by way of with the ability to manufacture these medicines at a decrease price and in a smaller house.”
Along with price financial savings, the robotic system can drastically enhance house utilization, Parietti mentioned. It may liberate sufficient house to retailer as much as 100x extra affected person doses per sq. foot of cleanroom in contrast with a typical handbook course of. High quality and sterility are additionally considerably enhanced, he mentioned.
“Robots don’t breathe, they usually don’t contact stuff they’re not supposed to the touch,” noticed the Multiply Labs CEO.
“Whereas human dealing with led to contamination in a single case, we didn’t see any contamination within the robotic course of,” mentioned Dr. Esensten in reference to the UCSF research.
The Multiply Labs robotic cluster is already deployed at international pharmaceutical corporations with outcomes now additionally documented in collaboration with scientists at Stanford College.
“It will actually change the best way we take into consideration the manufacturing of those bespoke, customized cell and gene therapies for sufferers,” mentioned Parietti. “We are going to finally enhance affected person entry globally by reducing manufacturing prices, enabling distributed manufacturing worldwide of those life-saving therapies.”