GE Healthcare has acquired Asymptote Ltd., specialists in cryochain technology for sensitive cellular therapies. Asymptote’s suite of cryochain hardware, software and consumables are designed to maintain the potency of cellular therapies enabling ultra-low temperature freezing during production, all the way to thawing at the clinic prior to administering to patients. The acquisition expands products and services for cell therapy production.
  
As the cell therapy market develops, demand for manufacturing and clinical delivery will increase. Asymptote makes technologies to help overcome the challenges associated with standard cell cryopreservation and thawing practices and support cGMP. The company’s digitally-enabled hardware products are designed to significantly lower the risk of contamination found in conventional processes and provide control and analytics of cryochain procedures.
 
Ger Brophy, general manager of GE Healthcare’s Cell Therapy business said, “Asymptote’s high-quality offering takes us another step forward in our vision to industrialize cell therapy, and in providing reliable and high-quality services for our customers and patients around the world. We want to improve the access to cellular therapies and tap the great potential that they have in curing some of our most difficult diseases. Finding ambitious technologies and partners like Asymptote, we are one step closer to realizing that goal.”
 
John Morris, Founder and chief executive officer, Asymptote, said, “Asymptote is delighted to become part of GE Healthcare.  Our vision, current portfolio and exciting pipeline of cryochain technology is a great fit with GE’s Cell Therapy division. Our innovative range of liquid nitrogen-free controlled rate freezers are already widely used in the cryopreservation of cellular based therapies.  The acquisition gives us the opportunity to reach a larger audience through the local specialist GE Cell Therapy team, provides us with a strong platform for our product launches, and allows us to significantly scale up our product development.”
 
Asymptote’s VIA Freezerange delivers liquid nitrogen-free cryopreservation and, soon-to-be released, VIA Thaw series that thaws deeply frozen cells by a dry conduction (water-free) process.  The company’s my.Cryochain software platform synchronizes with the VIA Freeze and VIA Thaw products to standardize freezing and thawing programs across multiple sites.