Cellevate, Fraunhofer IBMT and OLS consortium awarded EUR 1 million Eurostar grant for large scale production of iPSCs
LUND, Sweden, April 25, 2025 – Cellevate AB, Fraunhofer IBMT (Institute for Biomedical Engineering), and the German bioreactor company OLS (Omni Life Science) have been awarded a EUR 1 million grant through the Eurostar program for large scale production of iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells). The project will run for three years and aims to validate the use of Cellevat3d® nanofiber microcarriers for large scale production of iPSCs in the OLS bioreactor including benchmarking data vs market standard processes. Fraunhofer IBMT will play an important role in designing and performing the studies through its leading expertise in applied stem cell research and biomedical engineering, while OLS brings specialized knowhow in cutting-edge bioreactor technologies and cell culture systems.
The global iPSC market is expected to grow from USD 677 million in 2023 to USD 1.1 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 8.8%. iPSCs are a promising cell source for curative therapies, disease modeling, and drug discovery. These cells can differentiate into a wide variety of cell types, including neurons and cardiomyocytes, which is not possible for many other cell types, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
Laura Chirica, CEO of Cellevate, stated: “We are very grateful for receiving funding from Eurostar and we are looking forward to collaborating with Fraunhofer IBMT and OLS on this exciting project. Human induced pluripotent stem cells exhibit significant potential for regenerative medical treatments due to their pluripotency and proliferation capacity. However, the large-scale production required for allogeneic therapies necessitates efficient and scalable culture systems. The newly launched Cellevat3d® nanofiber microcarriers product with their extremely large surface area and the three-dimensional scale-up that is fast and easy, could solve the challenges for the iPSCs large-scale production in suspension bioreactor cultures.”
For more information, please contact:
Laura Chirica, PhD
CEO Cellevate
Email: laura.chirica@cellevate.com
About Cellevate
Cellevate is a Swedish biotech company based on proprietary nanofiber technology dedicated to building the next generation cell culture solutions for cell- and gene therapy and novel vaccines biomanufacturing. The core nanotechnology, Cellevat3d® is a sustainable, deep-tech innovation for the biopharmaceutical industry. This platform allows for an industrial-scale production of a new category of nanofiber cell culture systems – with unparalleled surface area for cell growth, reproducibility, customization, and scalability, which ultimately lead to increased yield, productivity and process economy. Cellevat3d® nanofiber-based products are designed and validated as an integrated part of upstream bioprocessing solutions, from laboratory to large-scale production.
For more information, please visit www.cellevate.com.
About the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT
The development of new drugs and personalised diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are among the most promising topics of the future. The Fraunhofer IBMT is responding to this trend by developing innovative upscaling and cryopreservation strategies to optimise the efficiency and reproducibility of stem cell processes. Through the coordination of the imi project EBiSC2 – The European Bank for iPS Cells – and the global stem cell registry hPSCreg, the Fraunhofer IBMT has a unique infrastructure for the development of new cell models as well as drug and toxicity assays. In parallel, peripheral technologies in the field of intelligent sensors, bioinformatic data applications and cryobiotechnology are being developed. The most important criterion here is the generation and cryopreservation of large quantities of stem cells with consistently high quality.
For more information, please visit www.ibmt.fraunhofer.de.
About OLS (Omni Life Science)
At OMNI Life Science, we envision a world of cell research technologies for life sciences and biotechnology. Our commitment is to empower scientists in academia, industry and clinical sector with reliable, high-quality tools and solutions that address the needs of today´s and future cell research labs.
OMNI Life Science specializes in offering advanced products as instruments, media, reagents, and consumables for Cell Counting, Cell Culture, Imaging, Flow Cytometry and Cell Analysis.
As a global player in the life sciences industry, OMNI Life Science is dedicated to making a positive impact on cell research worldwide. Join us on our journey in cell research.
Your Partner in Cell Research | www.ols-bio.com.