High-throughput, automated tissue processing for preclinical safety assessment of cell and gene therapies

Wednesday 09:00 PDT / 12:00 EDT / 16:00 GMT / 17:00 CET

Sponsor

High-throughput, automated tissue processing for preclinical safety assessment of cell and gene therapies

Live30 webinars are thirty-minute presentations designed to update you on the latest innovations, applications, and data in a fast yet interactive format.

Efficient tissue processing and nucleic acid extraction are critical bottlenecks for in vivo CGT studies. These directly impact the quality of nucleic acids required for downstream analysis such as qPCR, dPCR, and NGS analysis. However, the inherent challenges of tissue heterogeneity, contamination risks, and scalability have limited throughput and reproducibility in traditional approaches.

This webinar will explore the latest advancements in automating tissue processing and nucleic extraction to meet the increasing demands of CGT R&D. Automation-friendly consumables for tissue collection and transfer, innovations in tissue homogenization approaches, and automated nucleic acid extraction platforms that optimize yield, purity, and efficiency to accelerate preclinical studies, will all be highlighted.

Additionally, the speakers will delve into how this work contributes to the final step of a Phase I automation effort within the nucleic acid analysis workflow. This effort aims to increase the efficiency, robustness, and accuracy of analyses by eliminating repetitive, error-prone manual steps. Lastly, the speakers will discuss the development of a novel triplex digital PCR assay to evaluate efficiency in preclinical studies that support evaluation gene therapy programs., sharing its performance in 3 parameters:

Accuracy (over 90%)
Specificity – no cross-amplification of non-target sequence
Sensitivity – detecting three targets in as low as 1ng of gDNA with minimal (25mL(25uL of blood) sample volume

Attend the webinar to:

Gain insights into the creation of a high-throughput, plate-based nucleic acid extraction platform for in vivo safety studies
Explore how automation of a nucleic acid analysis workflow contributes to increase the efficiency, robustness, and accuracy of the analysis by eliminating repetitive and error-prone manual steps.
Discover a dPCR assay development to support quantitative endpoint evaluation of gene therapy programs including world’s first approved CRISPR therapy.

Jiankun Wu

Bioanalytical Principal Research Associate at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

As a Bioanalytical Principal Research Associate at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Jiankun has played a pivotal role in advancing gene therapy programs using CRISPR technology. He has led critical initiatives, including developing quantitative assays for vector genome and transgene expression and supporting candidate screenings, contributing to the success of Vertex’s candidate nominations for gene therapy projects. Jiankun's expertise extends to high-throughput automation procedures and designing custom systems for efficient lab operations. He is a recognized Subject Matter Expert in multiple aspects for preclinical department and bioanalytical team for the "Lab of Our Future" initiatives at Vertex.