2025 Biotherapies Pavilion Participant Spotlight: Accellix

What are your most important goals as a company for this year and next? What are you most excited to see develop?

Our primary goal is to make the Accellix Platform as accessible as possible to cell and gene therapy developers, manufacturers and blood collection centers worldwide. The Accellix team is focused on continuing to expand our assay selection, including panels designed for cellular starting material characterization, as well as in-process and release testing for cell therapy. We continue to broaden our partnerships and collaborations with leading advanced therapies developers and industry organizations in order to achieve that goal. Our message is that automation, standardization, and real-time data analysis can fundamentally improve process consistency, product quality and regulatory compliance.

Looking ahead, our vision is to make Accellix a trusted analytical standard, one that helps our partners scale manufacturing, accelerate release and bring transformative therapies to more patients more quickly.

I am most excited to see how the field is embracing automation, digitalization and standardization to bring true control and predictability to cell therapy manufacturing. We are entering a new era where analytical technologies like Accellix are not just supporting QC; they are becoming an integral part of real-time process understanding. It is incredibly rewarding to witness how automated, on-site flow cytometry can help manufacturers make faster, data-driven decisions, reduce variability and link starting material quality directly to product potency. This convergence of analytical precision and process intelligence is what will truly enable the scalability of cell and gene therapies.

Beyond the technology itself, I am excited by the growing sense of collaboration across industry, regulatory agencies and associations like AABB and ISCT, all working together to build a more standardized, efficient and patient-centered ecosystem.

How did Accellix first start collaborating with AABB? How do you see AABB’s role in helping companies such as yours continue to advance within the biotherapies field?

Our collaboration with AABB began very naturally, as both organizations share a common mission to advance the quality, safety and standardization of blood and cellular therapies. Accellix recognized early on that blood centers play a pivotal role in the success of life-saving cell and gene therapies, as they provide the critical cellular starting materials that define the quality of therapeutic product.

Partnering with AABB provided an ideal platform to engage directly with experts in blood collection, processing and cellular characterization, and to contribute to the broader dialogue around analytical innovation in this space. Our initial interactions began through the AABB Biotherapies Pavilion at the AABB Annual Meeting, with scientific presentations and working group participation, where we shared data on how automated flow cytometry can enhance cellular starting material characterization and in-process quality control.

This engagement quickly evolved into deeper collaborations with American Red Cross Cell and Gene Therapy Solutions and the BCA Advanced Therapies Network, with AABB providing valuable opportunities for us to exchange insights, align with industry standards and support the community in adopting simpler, more robust analytical workflows. Today, those partnerships continue to strengthen as we work together toward a shared goal: delivering reliable, standardized testing at the point of collection, elevating leukopaks into well-characterized cellular starting material for cell therapy, and ultimately improving manufacturing efficiency and patient outcomes.

AABB plays a critical role as a unifying force in the biotherapies ecosystem. Its unique position, connecting and fostering dialogue between blood centers, cell therapy developers, clinicians, regulatory experts and technology innovators, creates the ideal environment for advancing quality, safety and standardization across the entire advanced therapies field.

For companies like Accellix, AABB provides an invaluable platform for scientific exchange and collaboration. Through its conferences, working groups and standards initiatives, AABB helps align the community on best practices for patient and donor collections, cellular starting material characterization and process control, areas that are fundamental to successful downstream cell and gene therapy manufacturing. We view AABB as a true partner in progress, accelerating the adoption of new analytical technologies, such as Accellix, that can simplify workflows, ensure data integrity and help bring advanced therapies to patients more efficiently and safely.

What do you think will be the next big development within the biotherapies field?

I believe the next major development in the biotherapies field will be the integration of real-time analytics and digital process control into manufacturing, which many now refer to as the move toward "smart manufacturing" or data-driven bioprocessing. As cell and gene therapies continue to expand, the industry will require tools that can monitor and control critical quality attributes in real time, ensuring consistent product potency and safety. This will require automation, AI-driven data interpretation and closed analytical platforms that eliminate variability and accelerate release decisions.

We will also see growing emphasis on standardization and comparability, from donor material characterization to potency testing, supported by closer collaboration between regulators, technology developers and industry consortia such as AABB, ISCT and PDA. The real breakthrough will come when advanced analytics, such as those offered by Accellix, are seamlessly embedded within manufacturing processes, enabling real-time release, predictive quality and truly scalable production of personalized therapies.

What do you find most rewarding about working within the biotherapies field? What advice would you give to someone starting their biotherapies career?

What I find most rewarding is knowing that our work directly contributes to bringing life-saving therapies to patients. Few fields combine science, technology and human impact as powerfully as biotherapies do. Every advancement we make, whether improving the way we characterize cellular starting materials, reducing variability or enabling faster release of a therapy, has a tangible effect on a patient's life. That connection between scientific innovation and real human benefit is deeply motivating.

It is also incredibly fulfilling to be part of a community that thrives on collaboration and purpose. The partnerships between developers, clinicians, blood centers and technology innovators are shaping a new standard for how advanced therapies are discovered, manufactured and delivered. At the end of the day, seeing how analytical innovation can simplify complexity, build trust and accelerate access to treatment, is what makes working in this field truly meaningful.

My first piece of advice would be to stay curious and never lose sight of the patient behind the science. Biotherapies is a fast-moving field that sits at the intersection of biology, technology and regulation, so a genuine curiosity and willingness to learn across disciplines will take you far. I would also encourage newcomers to build a strong foundation in quality and process understanding. Innovation in this field is not just about discovering new therapies; it's about ensuring that every step, from donor material to final product, is consistent, safe, and effective. Another key is to embrace collaboration. No one succeeds in isolation here. The most impactful advances come from partnerships between scientists, engineers, clinicians and regulators, all working toward a shared goal. And finally, be patient and persistent. Progress in biotherapies can be complex and highly regulated, but the reward of seeing your work translate into real improvements in patients' lives is unlike anything else.