Astraveus has announced a strategic partnership with the Netherlands Center for the Clinical Advancement of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies (NecstGen) to evaluate its Lakhesys benchtop cell factory for CAR-T manufacturing.

The collaboration will test Astraveus’ microfluidic-based platform at NecstGen’s facility in Leiden to assess its potential to improve efficiency and reduce costs in CAR-T production. The partnership also includes the manufacturing of lentiviral vectors by NecstGen to support Astraveus’ internal R&D programmes.

Astraveus said the collaboration marks the first external evaluation of its manufacturing system, following the company’s successful end-to-end production of CAR-T cells using its benchtop platform. The company’s approach replaces traditional batch processing with a fully closed, microfluidic system designed to streamline and scale personalised cell therapy manufacturing.

According to Astraveus, the Lakhesys platform is designed to overcome key bottlenecks in current cell therapy production by reducing footprint, turnaround time, and cost, while improving reproducibility and throughput.

Jérémie Laurent, chief executive at Astraveus, said the collaboration will allow the company to demonstrate the platform’s capabilities in a real-world setting.

“NecstGen and Astraveus share a common passion and determination to deliver next-generation cell and gene therapies with increased accessibility and affordability,” he said. “This partnership enables us to carry out external demonstrations of our platform in a highly collaborative and transparent environment. NecstGen’s deep expertise and commitment to innovation makes them an ideal partner to challenge the current limitations in cell therapy manufacturing.”

NecstGen supports therapy developers ranging from academic teams to large pharmaceutical companies, helping to bridge the gap between early-stage research and clinical application. Based at the Leiden Bio Science Park, one of Europe’s largest life sciences hubs, the organisation focuses on accelerating the development of cell and gene therapies.

Paul Bilars, chief executive at NecstGen, said the Lakhesys platform represents a novel approach that could support broader access to advanced therapies.

“Astraveus’ approach to CAR-T cell manufacturing is a breakthrough technology with the potential to transform the industry,” he said. “By enabling faster and more affordable development of these cutting-edge treatments, we hope to improve patient access and streamline production.”

The companies aim to generate data that will further validate the technology’s utility in commercial and clinical settings, laying the groundwork for broader adoption of automated benchtop manufacturing solutions.