CELLEVATE AB

Producing viral vaccines and cell therapies at scale is one of the least-discussed bottlenecks in modern medicine. The problem is rarely a shortage of effective molecules: it is a shortage of systems to produce them in sufficient quantities, at high yields and sustainable costs. A critical factor is often the physical support on which cells grow during production — microcarriers — which determines how many cells are obtained per unit of volume and how efficient the entire biomanufacturing process is. CELLEVATE AB, a Swedish startup operating at the intersection of healthtech and deep tech, has developed a proprietary nanofiber-based microcarrier technology — the Cellevat3d VAX system — specifically designed for viral vaccine production. Compared to conventional microcarriers, the technology promises yields more than ten times higher, an order-of-magnitude leap that would have profound implications for vaccine manufacturing and viral vector production for gene therapies. The physics of the system lies in the three-dimensional structure of the nanofibers, which more faithfully replicates the natural environment in which cells grow in biological tissue. This translates into greater cell adhesion, more uniform growth, and more efficient production of the viral particles that constitute the final product. Target customers are biopharma companies, vaccine manufacturers, biomanufacturing organizations, and R&D laboratories working on cell therapies and viral vectors. The commercial model is B2B with customized solutions — an approach consistent with the technical nature of the applications, which require adaptation to each client's specific processes. In an era when the ability to produce vaccines rapidly has become a national and global strategic priority — as the pandemic made clear — technologies that radically improve biomanufacturing efficiency have a potential impact that extends well beyond commercial boundaries.