Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have announced they have formed a strategic alliance to accelerate the development and manufacturing of cell-based therapies.

Under the agreement, Thermo Fisher will build and operate a 44,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art cell therapy development, manufacturing and collaboration center in leased space on UCSF's Mission Bay campus, which includes biomedical research facilities and hospitals.

The site will offer clinical and commercial cGMP cell therapy manufacturing services, along with associated technology development support, to UCSF and other partners.

Expected to open in 2022, the facility will also serve as a central location where customers and UCSF researchers will have access to Thermo Fisher's broad portfolio of Cell Therapy Systems (CTS) reagents, consumables, and fit-for-purpose instrumentation and compliant software.

The CTS product portfolio is designed to work together, and seamlessly transition from research to clinical manufacturing to address cell therapy production workflow challenges.