The Fraunhofer Project Center for Stem Cell Process Technology together with the Fraunhofer Translation Center for Regenerative Therapies will be represented at Germany's largest biotech event, the German Biotechnology Days 2019, in Würzburg from April 9 to 10, 2019.

Innovative research approaches in medicine and drug development are increasingly focusing on the use of stem cells. Improved disease models and new therapeutic approaches require cells in large numbers and of high quality. Universally applicable, highly scaled and validated bioprocess technologies are lacking for the production and packaging of high-quality stem cells and cells derived from them. There is also a lack of specifically adapted materials as bioactive surfaces or scaffolding structures for 2D and 3D cultivation as well as automated techniques for high-throughput cell investigations.

The Fraunhofer Project Center for Stem Cell Process Technology Würzburg of the Fraunhofer Institutes for Silicate Research ISC and for Biomedical Engineering IBMT, which was launched at the end of 2017, aims to accelerate the process through new automated cell production processes and innovative materials. The project center brings together the competence in establishing biomedical workflows in the field of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), e.g. stem cell technologies, automation of cellular workflows, such as expansion, differentiation and screening, new read-out methods, cryopreservation and biobanking, of the Fraunhofer IBMT and the material science competence, such as bioactive materials and surface functionalizations, of the Fraunhofer ISC.