TTP Plc (TTP), a leading independent technology and product development company, and Camena Bioscience, a developer of pioneering technology that profiles small molecules, such as metabolites, nutrients or medicines in liquid samples, announce that they are collaborating to develop an instrument to monitor the health of cell cultures.

The new instrument will be used in biologic medicine manufacturing, and will be developed by TTP as part of a new project led by Camena Bioscience and co-funded by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, with GSK plc and The Centre for Process Innovation as further project partners.

TTP will integrate Camena Bioscience’s proprietary small-molecule detection technology into a new instrument that will allow researchers to monitor metabolite levels in cell cultures more easily. The resulting better understanding of the condition of the cell culture, which is crucial for consistent synthesis of high-quality biologic products, promises to substantially improve the efficiency and cost of biologic medicine manufacturing.

Camena Bioscience won the Innovate UK funding for the consortium to commercialise a proprietary small-molecule detection technology, and TTP was chosen to lead on the design and development of an analytical reader and housing for the biosensors. Leveraging TTP’s 30-year track record in life science instrument development, the partnership aims to deliver a desktop analytical instrument that is versatile, yet easy to use and compact, to create a powerful new tool for bioprocess development labs globally.

Jana Voigt, COO of Camena Bioscience, explained the potential applications: “Existing technologies only permit the monitoring of a few types of small molecules in cell culture, or typically require large, complex and expensive lab equipment. Camena Bioscience’s sensor technology will extend the range of small molecules that can be monitored in cell culture, allow for simultaneous detection of multiple metabolites, and ensure that the new instrument provides rapid and accurate results from small samples of the culture medium.”

Stuart Lowe, Life Science Consultant at TTP, commented on the announcement: “In recent years the Life Science Group at TTP has been driving innovation in the bioprocessing market. Camena Bioscience has an exciting and timely new technology – their instrument vision is complementary to much of the work that TTP has been undertaking in Desktop Biology, with the goal of democratising analysis through increased simplicity and smaller system footprint. We look forward to working with the consortium Camena Bioscience has built to capitalise on their sensor technology.”