Cytiva Life Sciences: Supporting Gene Therapy

Who Is Cytiva?

Gene therapy has become heavily invested in over the past several years. So much so that the FDA released a special guide for the industry to follow, for ethical and safety reasons, as the study grows larger.

Several companies are working with genetic research and gene therapies, but the number one provider and manufacturer of such technologies and services is Cytiva.

With a growing combination of novel technologies, collaboration, and rich expertise, Cytiva works to bring the industry and people around the world the latest knowledge and life-changing discoveries in cell and gene therapy.

Cytiva, formerly known as GE Healthcare Life Sciences, is located in Marlborough, MA. It was founded in 1968 but was recently acquired by Danaher Corporation in 2020. NASDAQ announced this acquisition while informing the public of the name change and its identity as “CYTIVA” on the stock exchange.

Cytiva’s concerted efforts and innovative research aim to provide the tools needed to develop gene therapies, biopharma, medicines, and vaccinations. As a global provider of technologies, its vision is to improve access to therapies that benefit health and patient care worldwide. This article will review its services, support, and product lines that help bring that vision to life.

Cytiva Services & Support

Cytiva aims to supplement any lab’s life science journey and research through its robust and vast array of support services and solutions. These include product documentation, online reference tools, training and education, and more. Let’s take a closer look at each of these below.

Product Documentation

Cytiva organizes its product documentation services into four distinct categories: certificates, HyClone® certificates and documents, labels search, and safety data sheets.

Certificates include: Certificates of Authenticity (COA), Certificates of Quality (COQ), or Certificates of Conformity (COC). Certificates detail release criteria and regulatory compliance. Cytiva has recently introduced new XML certificates for much simpler data handling.

HyClone® products, on the other hand, come with their own certificates and documents. To locate certificates, safety data sheets, and reports, you need the lot number and the part number for your respective instrument.

Hazard labels can be looked up by using the label search function. You will need a catalog or article number. However, these hazard labels are for warehouses and distributors. Safety Data Sheets are available for all products with the search function by plugging in catalog or product name.

Online Tools

Cytiva has a curated portfolio of tools and instruments to help every lab optimize its workflow and save technicians time. Cytiva also offers mobile applications and online simulations for specific applications. These interactive tools are easy to use and aim to create efficient support systems for your applications. Cytiva divides its online tools into the following categories:

• Chromatography Tools – Tools in this category include a bed volume converter, flow rate converter, residence time calculator, and a purify app (a guide to help you select the right chromatography tools for protein separations).
• General Converters and Calculators – The converters and calculators in this category are all online tools used to simply and quickly convert everyday, standard measurements such as area, volume, temperature, pressure, volumetric flow rates, and more.
• Percoll Calculator – Cytiva’s percoll calculator helps you determine the appropriate amounts to dilute Percoll products to a known density.
• Crossflow and Normal Flow Filtration – Cytiva offers eight different calculators and converters in this area that are slightly different from its general converters and calculators. Here, you’ll find online tools to help you calculate normal flow filtrations, shear rates for hollow fibers, and transmembrane pressure. You can also leverage its flux converters, torque unit converters, and more.
• Whatman Filter Selector – Cytiva’s Whatman filter selector takes the guesswork out of filter selection. This comprehensive guide and search functions help you narrow down filter paper, membrane filters, syringe filters, and more. Combined with its extensive article library on lab filtration systems, this Cytiva online tool helps labs find the optimal filters to ensure reliable analysis.
• Cytiva Bioreactor Scaler – Cytiva’s easy-to-use online scaler intuitively determines the critical parameters for scaling cell culture processes.
• Biacore Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) – This category comprises a Biacore SPR sensorgram simulation tool, a diffusion coefficient calculator, an SPR surface capacity calculator, and a product guide to Biacore consumables.

Training & Education

Cytiva’s training and education resources are designed for engineers, manufacturing scientists, plant operators, and support staff. These resources value the ongoing nature of education and provide comprehensive handbooks, training courses, equipment care training, white papers, and life science online training.

Through different training courses and handbooks, you can find and implement techniques and applications for cell culture, protein purification, sample preparation, ion exchange chromatography principles, and more. Leverage Cytiva’s on-demand e-learning courses for a deeper understanding of your applications, and if you run into any technical issues, find a training course for equipment maintenance and troubleshooting.

Services

Other services offered by Cytiva include:

• OptiRun Service Solutions – Cytiva’s OptiRun solution is a complete, 360-degree support service aimed at keeping your machinery and equipment working at their best while streamlining your workflow and bioprocessing. Cytiva’s trained field engineers will examine your system(s), determine any needs, and promptly perform thorough maintenance or repairs. OptiRun service agreements and plans include different levels of coverage depending on your lab’s needs—you can choose from a complete coverage plan, preventative maintenance, or site coverage.
• Biomanufacturing Services – Cytiva’s “Fast Trak” biomanufacturing services minimize the hassle of working with multiple suppliers, delayed or inefficient processes, and the lack of product or process expertise. This service prioritizes collaboration, single-use technologies, and parallel processing to significantly reduce the time and oversight of any application.
• Instruments Qualification Services – These qualifications services keep you up to date with regulatory requirements in biotech, software and firmware updates, and preventive maintenance.
• Scientific Support – While Cytiva’s training and education courses are comprehensive, there are still some occasions where you’ll run into practical and unique challenges that require more hands-on guidance. If you find yourself here, Cytiva’s scientific support team is readily available to help you develop new solutions through a 3-step process:

1. They’ll first listen carefully to your research problem, identify its demands and applications, and make appropriate recommendations for products or techniques to test.
2. Based on the support team’s recommendations, your lab will perform the test(s).
3. After testing, you’ll provide feedback to the support scientist and take any necessary next steps as needed.

Cytiva Products

While the support services are numerous, where Cytiva really shines is in its product line. Whether you are developing a vaccine or contributing to the latest research on gene therapy, Cytiva has a piece of equipment that will facilitate your processes while providing accurate data. Cytiva has an extensive product line that is divided into several categories. Here is a synopsis of what they offer, organized by category:

• Bioprocess filtration: Here, you will find two types of filtration products: normal flow products and tangential flow products. Normal flow products reduce bioburdens, clarifies, and refines viruses and biomedicals. Conversely, its tangential flow filtration products are used for ultrafiltration and microfiltration via tangential (cross) flow.
• Cell culture and fermentation processes: This is where you can find bioreactors, microcarriers, buffers, and perfusion systems. You can also locate supplements and reagents to assist your experiments.
• Fixed and live cell research through imaging and analysis: These microscopes and software match your experiments into fixed and live cellular mechanisms. These microscopes offer high-resolution in 3D and flexible fluorescent imaging. Analyzing systems offer increased contrast when working with thicker substances and increase speed and sensitivity.
• Cell therapy technologies: These products will assist with cell banking and cell processing. Software is available for cord-blood banking and cell processing. Or, you might shop for reagents to stimulate cellular proliferation.
• Chromatography products: Not only will you find high-quality chromatography systems themselves, such as the ÄKTA Avant, but you will also find the tools and accessories you need to perform your experiments. In this category, you’ll find your empty lab- and process-scale columns, pre-packed columns, resins, chromatography membranes, buffer preparation systems, and the necessary software to support your applications.
• Whatman filters, membranes, and devices: What is a lab without filtration? Filters come in various forms, such as paper, syringe, disk, membranes, and thimbles. You can also locate funnels, holders, and dispensers in this cohort.
• Liquid preparation and management: Everything you need to keep your liquids protected and easily accessible. Wheeled carts, storage bins, fusing systems, and single-use mixers are all right here.
• Molecular biology and biochemistry: Find a wide array of consumables and equipment from biochemicals, buffers, and additives to extraction systems. Purification, microarrays, sample collection, and sequencing solutions are all here, too. The Sera-Xtracta Virus/Pathogen Kit is increasingly popular for total nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) from viruses and bacteria, particularly relevant for the COVID-19/ coronavirus pandemic.
• Protein analysis equipment and supplies: There is plenty here to find for every laboratory across the US. Blotters, imagers, immunoassays, reagents, and molecular imaging cover much of the product line.

Lease New Lab Equipment Through Excedr

It’s no wonder Cytiva is often a go-to manufacturer and partner in life science and biopharmaceutical industries. Cytiva has many solutions, and you can find everything you need for cell extraction, purification, and analysis. Whether you are working on vaccines or gene therapies, Cytiva is a trusted manufacturer that can get you what you need.

When it comes to paying for such high-quality equipment, however, it quickly becomes overwhelming to meet your needs and stick with a budget.

This is why leasing through Excedr can be a massive benefit to your lab. Make equipment procurement easier on your budget. By leasing through Excedr, you can accelerate your R&D efforts while keeping cash on hand for other critical business areas.

Contact our financial experts and leasing reps today to learn more about our leasing program. If funding is tight and a creative solution is necessary, we can help procure the cutting-edge equipment you need to complete mission-critical research.

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