Thermo Fisher Scientific Opens Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center in Philadelphia to Accelerate Cell and Gene Therapy Development
Key Insights
Thermo Fisher Scientific (search) opened its second Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center (ATxCC) in the United States, located within BioLabs (search) for Advanced Therapeutics Philadelphia's 53,000-square-foot biotech incubator.
The facility provides emerging startups and biopharma organizations with direct access to Thermo Fisher's expert scientists, advanced process development technologies, and collaboration opportunities to accelerate cell and gene therapy (search) development.
The center features two fully equipped wet labs and offers an alternative to traditional CDMO relationships by enabling side-by-side collaboration between innovators and Thermo Fisher scientists.
Thermo Fisher Scientific (search) has opened its East Coast flagship Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center (ATxCC) in Philadelphia, marking the company's second such facility in the United States following the opening of its Carlsbad, California site. The new center expands the company's nationwide network supporting cell and gene therapy (search) (CGT) innovation, providing critical resources to biotech, biopharma and translational researchers developing next-generation cell-based immunotherapies (search).
Located within BioLabs (search) for Advanced Therapeutics Philadelphia, a newly expanded 53,000-square-foot biotech incubator, the Philadelphia ATxCC provides emerging startups and biopharma organizations with direct access to Thermo Fisher's expert scientists, advanced process development technologies and collaboration opportunities.
Addressing Critical Development Bottlenecks
The facility is designed to address specific challenges in CGT development, particularly bottlenecks often present in autologous manufacturing programs that can arise from limited bench space and access to specialized equipment. "By introducing automation and standardized workflows earlier in development, we can reduce variability from run to run and make better use of valuable capacity across projects," said Tiffani Manolis, VP and general manager, cell biology, at Thermo Fisher.
The center features two fully equipped wet labs - one for collaboration with BioLabs (search) member organizations and one for the greater Philadelphia community working in the cell and gene therapy (search) space. This setup enables teams to adopt closed, automated workflows, use integrated analytics, and build scalable processes from the start.
Alternative to Traditional CDMO Model
The ATxCC offers an alternative to traditional contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) relationships through its embedded BioLab model. "By co-locating our expertise and technologies inside BioLabs (search), innovators work side-by-side with Thermo Fisher scientists who understand the biology, the processes, and the day-to-day realities at the bench," Manolis explained.
The facility brings Thermo Fisher's full range of solutions, including instruments, media and reagents, software and more, directly into the ecosystem. This approach allows for closer collaboration between the company and developers than is possible in traditional CDMO relationships.
Strategic Investment in Advanced Therapies
"Our new Advanced Therapies Collaboration Center in Philadelphia is designed to help innovators overcome critical hurdles in developing cell and gene therapies," said Nicole Brockway, president, biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific (search). "This center will play a key role in supporting customers as they progress from the lab to the clinic and, most importantly, bring transformative therapies to patients faster."
The opening reflects Thermo Fisher's ongoing investment in enabling breakthroughs in advanced therapies, which represent one of the most promising frontiers in modern medicine, offering the potential to treat, and even cure, diseases once considered untreatable.
Expanding Access to High-End Technologies
"We're proud to expand our network-wide partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific (search) through this unique offering," said Johannes Fruehauf, PhD, MD, Founder and CEO of BioLabs (search). "By embedding the ATxCC within the BioLabs community, we are creating a uniquely rich and accessible resource for founders and startup teams working on groundbreaking therapies in Philadelphia."
The center will offer access to high-end technologies not only for BioLabs (search) members but also to external high-potential biotechs from across the East Coast and internationally, according to Fruehauf.