CPHI Frankfurt 2025: Unlocking the Potential of 3D Cell Cultures in Vaccine Production with Novel Nanofiber Platform

Implementation of three-dimensional (3D) cell culture nanofiber systems in industrial vaccine production offers much higher viral vaccine titers, greater scalability and improved process economy, but it will require tight collaboration with the industry to help speed up their wide adoption, stresses Laura Chirica from Cellevate.  

Cell culture is a critical tool in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, enabling scientists to develop biological drugs, such as vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, that can be scaled up for commercial production in a controlled environment. Two-dimensional (2D) cell culture is the mainstay approach for commercial production; however, recent advances in 3D cell culture systems are providing interesting scope for improved scalability and significantly higher yields.

“The vaccine industry is still largely reliant upon 2D cell culture systems, such as T-flasks and, even, roller bottles, cell factories, and cell stacks,” remarks Laura Chirica, PhD, CEO of Cellevate. “3D cell cultures are emerging as a much more cost efficient and scalable alternative option.”

Looking at 3D cell culture in more detail, Chirica highlights that nowadays they use microcarriers or, in Cellevate’s case, nanofiber-based microcarriers that enable much higher cell densities with high cell viability, much higher virus titers, and can support high scalability production processes in stirred tank bioreactors. “These true 3D cell cultures are represented by ‘so-called’ spheroid growth structures that are formed by the cells and the nanofibers having very high cell density and viability,” she says.

The spheroid culture gained through the 3D cell culture improves process reproducibility and scalability, Chirica continues. “The novel nanofiber-based 3D cell cultures that we are now bringing to the vaccine producers, introduce a completely new way of cell culture in bioprocessing,” she reveals. However, there are limitations with being innovative in such a field as there is a need to convince industry to adopt the newer approach and to gain regulatory familiarity with these newer approaches, Chirica specifies.

“Process optimization, including new protocols, as well as new analytical methods that characterize growth/product yield, are very important [to overcome the roadblocks to greater adoption of nanofiber-based 3D cell culture],” Chirica emphasizes. Standardization is another potential limitation that could slow adoption of 3D cell culture especially now in the beginning; however, working with established partners to bring innovative solutions to the market can help to overcome this issue, she comments.

Using the newly launched Cellevate3d VAX nanofiber platform as an example, Chirica points out that by combining it with cells, media and ready-to-use bioreactors, it is possible to create whole solutions that provide improved process economy for the vaccine producers. “In this way, we enable an easier integration and acceptance [of the new approach] into existing GMP [good manufacturing practice] workflows,” she states.

Click the video above to view the full interview

*Cellevate3d is a registered trademark of Cellevate.

About the Speaker

Laura Chirica, PhD, is CEO of Cellevate — a Swedish biotech company that develops and markets the next generation cell culture products for cell and gene therapy and novel vaccines biomanufacturing.

Laura has 25 years of experience from executive roles in company strategy, commercialization, scaleup, growth and financing in both startups and multinationals from bioprocess, biotech and diagnostics industries.

She is CEO of Cellevate since 2022, and her previous positions include Chief Commercial Officer at Immunovia AB, VP Sales and Marketing at Euro Diagnostica AB including Wieslab Service Laboratories (now SVAR Life Science), Director Purification Technologies Europe at Sartorius Stedim, Global Marketing Director at Dako A/S (now Agilent Technologies), and Global Marketing Program Manager at GE Healthcare (now Cytiva).Education: PhD in Biochemistry, MSc in Biochemistry and BSc in Biotechnology. Other significant appointments: Board Director at Senzagen AB, Gradientech AB and Pre Diagnostics AS.

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