I Peace, a CDMO specializing in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), has expanded its manufacturing facility, tripling the biotech startup’s capacity to produce iPSC cells.
The facility is going through a regulatory review and FDA registration update and is expected to begin operating in full sometime next month, the company said.
iPSCs are produced from skin or blood cells that have been reprogrammed back into an embryoniclike pluripotent state and are used to develop an unlimited source of any type of human cell needed for therapeutic purposes.
Founded in 2015 by CEO Koji Tanabe, Ph.D., the Palo Alto, California-based company developed a process to mass manufacture clinical-grade ISPCs for cell therapies in a closed cassette that can fit in the palm of a hand. Because its system is modular and scalable with a small footprint, the technology allows for simultaneous mass production of clinical-grade iPSCs from a multitude of donors in a single facility.
Details of the expansion and cost of the project weren’t disclosed.
I Peace competes in the iPSC manufacturing arena with players like Fujifilm, Treefrog Therapeutics, Rheincell Therapeutics and Ncardia.
Ncardia, which is based in Belgium, picked up $60 million as part of a strategic partnership with investment firm Kinciti that was announced in November.