PHC Corporation’s Biomedical Division (PHCbi) has introduced the cell expansion system, LiCellGrow, designed for research purposes in Japan and certain other countries globally.
LiCellGrow supports quality production of cell and gene therapies and enables developers to automatically control culture conditions and visualise metabolic changes in cells in real time.
It was developed by PHCbi to assist therapy developers in determining the optimal culture conditions during process development.
The system integrates In-Line monitoring technology that continuously measures glucose and lactate concentrations, which are notable main indicators of cell metabolism.
Its control technology uses these measurements to adjust the cell culture medium at optimal times. This approach is based on PHCbi’s electrochemical measurement platform, developed through over three decades of blood glucose sensor innovation.
LiCellGrow tracks metabolic data in real time and adjusts medium exchange accordingly. This process supports consistent product quality and aligns with quality by design principles for scientifically robust manufacturing processes.
The system’s single-use design uses dedicated culture bags and can be placed inside standard CO₂ incubators without special facility requirements.
LiCellGrow builds upon the in-line monitoring technology launched in LiCellMo, a live cell metabolic analyser launched for research use.
PHCbi plans to expand its offerings from late 2026 through early 2028, including culture bags with filtration functions, dissolved oxygen metre units, and cGMP-compliant consumables.
PHC Corporation director and PHCbi head Chikara Takauo said: “We are excited to launch LiCellGrow and offer therapy developers a new way to solve common challenges in quality, cost, and delivery of cell and gene therapies.
“Building on the success of our research-use system LiCellMo, LiCellGrow represents an important step forward in making CGT manufacturing efficient, reliable, and scalable. We are committed to expanding our PHCbi offerings to continue to contribute to the adoption of CGT and other advanced therapy options for hard-to-treat conditions.”
