Today, GE Ventures and Mayo Clinic announced they are teaming up to launch Vitruvian Networks, Inc., an independent platform company committed to accelerating access to cell and gene therapies through advanced, cloud-ready software systems and manufacturing services.
Vitruvian Networks will partner with therapy producers and serve them by providing a state-of-the-art software and manufacturing platform to bring the Internet of Things (IoT) to cell and gene therapies. At scale, the platform will be a network orchestrator for therapeutic companies, with powerful business intelligence and data analytics capabilities.
Cell and gene therapy involve time and resource-intense processes to provide personalized therapies to patients. Efficient and cost-effective solutions are required to expedite the transition of promising and potentially curative therapies from early clinical trials to a portfolio of products that advances medical care.
Vitruvian Networks initially will focus on the production of autologous cell therapies that target blood cancers. The new company also will develop the supporting standards, infrastructure and ecosystem that will protect patients and expedite discovery, delivery and regulation in the field.
Partnership Details
Vitruvian Networks will use Mayo Clinic’s data related to biomarkers, cell therapy processes and clinical outcomes to guide further development of personalized therapies. The company will also leverage tools from GE Healthcare’s cell therapy business in addition to those of other leading partners. Vitruvian Networks will access the GE Store – a global exchange of knowledge, technology and tools from across the company – to repurpose analytical capabilities and manufacturing process excellence from business units, such as GE Healthcare, GE Aviation and GE Power.
“Autologous therapies in the area of regenerative and personalized medicine have shown great promise in treating life-threatening diseases,” says Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine. “We are excited that Vitruvian Networks will further drive standardization of the industry, increase scalability and bring forward the realization of critical therapeutic potential to address the unmet needs of patients around the world.”