Key points from article :
An innovative new robot that grows stem cells, the CellQualiaTM Intelligent Cell Processing System, is being trialled by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The MHRA’s UK Stem Cell Bank is one of only two places in the world to test this technology.
It has the potential to bring safer and more cost-effective treatments to people with a wide range of diseases.
Stem cells have a unique ability to turn into different types of cells with specialised functions, making them particularly useful in medicine.
This trial is part of a UK-based international research programme, launched in 2021, and a partnership between the MHRA, SAKARTA, and Sinfonia Technology.
They are testing the robot over a 12-month period to see the cells produced by the fully automated Intelligent Cell Processing System.
Marc Bailey, MHRA Chief Scientific Officer said: "Cell-based therapeutics have the potential to treat, and even cure, a number of diseases ... very difficult to manufacture."
