Lakhesys · Project

Automated Machine That Cuts CAR-T Cancer Therapy Production Costs by 70%

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Imagine a cancer treatment where doctors take your own immune cells, reprogram them to hunt down tumors, and put them back. It works incredibly well — but right now, making that treatment is like handcrafting a luxury car for every single patient. Astraveus built a tiny chip and an automated machine called Lakhesys that does the whole process hands-free, slashing costs by around 70%. Think of it as going from artisan workshop to smart factory, but for life-saving cell therapies.

By the numbers

~70%

Reduction in CAR-T production costs

72%

CAR-T institutions concentrated in USA and China

Lakhesys Sigma system assembled with scalable capacity

Total project deliverables

The business problem

What needed solving

CAR-T cancer therapies work — but they cost a fortune to produce because manufacturing is manual, slow, and requires highly skilled operators at every step. This makes treatments unaffordable for most healthcare systems and impossible to scale to the millions of patients who could benefit. The industry needs automated, cost-effective manufacturing to make these life-saving treatments accessible.

The solution

What was built

Astraveus built the Lakhesys Sigma — an automated, standalone instrument for end-to-end CAR-T therapy production, based on a proprietary microfluidic chip. The assembled system includes scalable volumetric capacity, cell sorting, and optical assessment capabilities.

Audience

Who needs this

Contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) producing cell therapiesHospital networks wanting to bring CAR-T treatment in-housePharma companies scaling up personalized cell therapy clinical trialsHealth technology assessment bodies evaluating CAR-T cost-effectivenessMedical device distributors serving oncology markets

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Cell & Gene Therapy Manufacturing

mid-size

Target: CAR-T therapy manufacturers and CDMOs

If you are a contract development and manufacturing organization struggling with the high cost and manual complexity of CAR-T production — this project developed an automated microfluidic instrument (Lakhesys Sigma) that handles end-to-end CAR-T manufacturing with ~70% lower production costs. The system includes cell sorting and optical assessment capabilities, reducing hands-on labor and contamination risk.

Hospital & Clinical Networks

enterprise

Target: Large hospital networks with oncology departments

If you are a hospital system that wants to offer CAR-T therapy but cannot justify the current cost per patient — this project built a standalone automated instrument that could enable decentralized, point-of-care CAR-T production. With 72% of CAR-T institutions currently concentrated in the USA and China, this EU-developed technology could help European hospitals bring treatment in-house.

Pharmaceutical & Biotech

enterprise

Target: Pharma companies developing next-generation cell therapies

If you are a biotech company scaling up clinical trials for personalized cell therapies and facing bottlenecks in manufacturing capacity — this project created a microfluidic chip platform with scalable volumetric capacity that automates the entire CAR-T workflow. The Lakhesys Sigma system was assembled with upgraded functionality for cell sorting and optical assessment, designed for volume production.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

How much could this reduce our CAR-T production costs?

The project objective states the microfluidic chip technology can lower production costs by approximately 70%. This comes from automating the end-to-end manufacturing process that is currently labor-intensive and manual.

Is this ready for industrial-scale production?

The project delivered an assembled Lakhesys Sigma system with scalable volumetric capacity and upgraded functionality including cell sorting and optical assessment. The phase-2 project focused specifically on turning the working prototype into a launch-ready product and supporting industrialization steps.

What is the IP and licensing situation?

Astraveus SAS is the sole partner and IP owner. As a French SME funded through the EIC SME Instrument, they hold proprietary rights to both the microfluidic chip design and the Lakhesys instrument. Licensing or partnership inquiries should be directed to Astraveus.

How does this compare to existing CAR-T manufacturing solutions?

The objective describes this as a complete step-change versus anything on the market. Current CAR-T production is dominated by US and Chinese players (72% of CAR-T institutions). Lakhesys offers automated, standalone, end-to-end production — replacing what is currently a multi-step manual process.

What regulatory pathway would this need?

As a medical manufacturing instrument for cell therapy production, it would need to meet regulatory requirements for GMP-compliant medical device manufacturing equipment. Based on available project data, the project focused on validation and industrialization steps, suggesting regulatory preparation was part of the scope.

What is the current project status?

The project closed in February 2023. Astraveus continues to operate — their website is astraveus.com. The company has moved from prototype to an assembled system with scalable capacity during the project period.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a single-company project: Astraveus SAS, a French SME, is the sole partner. Funded through the EIC SME Instrument (phase 2), this means the EU specifically backed Astraveus as a high-potential startup. There are no university or research institute partners — all IP and know-how sits within one company. For a business buyer, this simplifies negotiations: one entity controls the technology, the manufacturing knowledge, and the commercial roadmap. The risk is concentration — everything depends on one small company's execution capacity.

How to reach the team

Astraveus SAS is a French SME — contact through their website or SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction.

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Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how automated CAR-T manufacturing could fit your production pipeline? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the Astraveus team and provide a detailed technology brief.

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