Cellix announces start of EASYGEN project led by Fresenius: €8 M Europeanconsortium to decentralize CAR-T cell therapy and improve hospital workflows

Dublin, 26 August 2025

EASYGEN (Easy workflow integration for gene therapy) aims to bring CAR-T cell therapy directly to the point of care—within hospital settings; making it faster, more affordable, and more accessible to patients across Europe. CAR-T therapy is a breakthrough cancer treatment which genetically modifies a patient’s T cells to target cancer.

Some of the key challenges in traditional CAR-T cell manufacturing are the complex logistics of sample collection, storage and transport to the lab for processing. Combining this with the long lead times that traditional CAR-T cell manufacturing takes, means that there is a very big burden on everyone involved; from patients to hospitals and the technology providers themselves.

EASYGEN aims to transform traditional CAR-T cell manufacturing by enabling point-of-care production and condensing these steps using technology originally developed by Fresenius Kabi‘s Cell and Gene Therapy team. This simplifies the process and dramatically reduces the timescale. Cellix’s Inish Analyser is used for Quality Control testing enabling rapid release of the T cells for infusion back into the patients. The Inish Analyser measures cell viability and cell numbers ensuring safety and correct dosing of the T cells for infusion into the patient.

“Given Cellix’s expertise, the EASYGEN project really complements our skill-set and we are delighted to part of this truly synergistic consortium.” said Vivienne Williams, CEO of Cellix.

The scientific strategy is academically co-led by Fraunhofer Institute IZI, Leipzig - Europe’s foremost immunotherapy research center under the leadership of Prof. Dr Michael Hudecek a leader in CAR-T cell engineering and Prof. Dr. Ulrike Köhl, a pioneer in translational cellular immunotherapies.

Consortium partners – 18 organizations across 8 countries

Industry & clinical leaders: Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (Coordinator) (DE), Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch (DE), QS Instituto (ES), Fenwal Inc. (US), Cellix Ltd. (IE), Charles River (DE), Pro-Liance Global Solutions (DE), TQ Therapeutics (DE), Philips Electronics Nederland B.V. (NL).

Academic & research institutions: Fraunhofer IESE (DE), Fraunhofer IZI (DE), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE), Technical University of Denmark (DK), Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (DE), European Society for Blood & Marrow Transplantation (SP), Bar-Ilan University (IL), University of Glasgow (UK), University of Navarra (ES).

About EASYGEN

EASYGEN is a five-year research project supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU) under grant agreement No 101194710. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and COCIR, EFPIA, Europa Bío, MedTech Europe, Vaccines Europe and industry partners. Selected under the IHI call “User-centric technologies and optimized hospital workflows for a sustainable healthcare workforce”, the project aims to develop an integrated, automated platform that enables point-of-care CAR-T cell manufacturing—cutting production time, reducing costs, and expanding access to next-generation immunotherapies.

About Cellix

Cellix develops microfluidic devices and biochips for life science applications, including cell-based assays. Cellix was established in 2006 having spun out from the Departments of Physics and Clinical Medicine at Trinity College Dublin. Cellix is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. In 2023, Cellix was acquired by Randox Laboratories and is now adapting our microfluidic skill-set to development of diagnostic tests, collaborating closely with Randox’s team in Co. Antrim, UK.

Disclaimer: Funded by the European Union, the private members, and those contributing partners of the IHI JU. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the aforementioned parties. Neither of the aforementioned parties can be held responsible for them.

© Johannes Krzeslack

Image Description (Left to Right)

In the front row, from left to right: Dr. Sonja Steppan (EASYGEN Principal Investigator, Fresenius SE), Prof. Dr. Michael Hudecek (Fraunhofer IZI), Theresa Kagerbauer (TQ Therapeutics), Dr. Agnes Vosen (HZDR), Christopher Wegener (Kabi), Vaclovas Radvilas (EBMT), Dr. Julia Schüler (Charles River), Dr. Julia Busch-Casler (HZDR), Nicole Spanier-Baro (Fraunhofer IESE), Vivienne Williams (Cellix Limited), Prof. Dr. Bertram Glaß (Helios), Prof. Dr. Ulrike Köhl (Fraunhofer IZI), Rebecca Scheiwe (Fresenius SE).

In the back row, from left to right: Prof. Dr. Ralf Kuhlen (Fresenius SE), Prof. Dr. Jens O. Brunner (DTU), Dominik Narres (Fresenius SE), Thomas Brzoska (Pro-Liance Global Solutions), Dr. David Krones (Fraunhofer IZI), Dr. Sabine Bertsch (Pro-Liance Global Solutions), Dr. Ralf Hoffmann (Philips), Christin Zündorf (TQ Therapeutics), Dr. Anna Dünkel (Fraunhofer IZI).