MilliporeSigma announced it has acquired FloDesign Sonics, a Wilbraham, MA-based acoustic cell processing platform developer for the industrialization of cell and gene therapy manufacturing. MilliporeSigma will now be the first company to make acoustic technology available for cell therapy manufacturing, according to an Oct. 10, 2019 press release.

Acoustic cell processing involves disruptive technology that manipulates cells with ultrasonic waves, the release said. FloDesign Sonics uses enhanced cell washing and concentration for manufacturing cell therapies within its cell processing platform, making cell therapies more available to patients.

“Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies, or CAR-T for short, employs the body’s own immune systems to fight cancer by turning T cells into targeted therapeutics. This revolutionary cancer treatment is challenging and complex, with the process often taking up to a month,” said Udit Batra, CEO, MilliporeSigma, in the press release. “Our acquisition of FloDesign Sonic will industrialize the manufacturing of autologous cell therapy, allowing these types of potentially life-saving treatments to reach more patients, faster.”

“MilliporeSigma is the best home for FloDesign Sonics, our acoustic cell processing technology and our employees,” added Stanley Kowalski III, co-founder, chairman and CEO of FloDesign Sonics, in the press release. “The opportunity for FloDesign Sonics to become part of a world class 351-year-old science and technology company is very rewarding.”

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.