GE Healthcare has introduced the first in its VIA Thaw series, the VIA Thaw CB1000 for thawing large volumes of cell therapies cryopreserved in cryo-bags. This range of automated dry thawing units provides users with control over the thawing of sensitive therapies, and addresses key challenges faced by cell therapy companies.
Designed to overcome the multiple inconsistent elements in standard water bath thawing practice, the VIA Thaw series delivers a simple, reproducible and traceable recovery system that maintains cell viability to prevent loss of therapeutic effect. With around 900 cell therapy clinical trials underway worldwide and a handful of products approved as treatments, the emergence of cell therapies potentially will change the landscape of healthcare.
However, maintaining cell potency throughout the manufacture and cryogenic cold chain is a major challenge. Cell thawing is the final and least controlled part of the cryochain. The process is often carried out in waterbaths across multiple sites, with inconsistencies due to subjective determination of the thaw endpoint and risk of waterborne contamination. The collection and collation of data from thaw sites, often by paper records, also impedes therapy development.
GE Healthcare’s VIA Thaw CB1000 standardises and streamlines the recovery of cryopreserved samples with a system that captures a complete, auditable thaw record. Combining automation with dry conduction thawing, it enables the thaw endpoint to be precisely determined, and eliminates the contamination risk associated with waterbaths.