McGill Advanced Therapies Research and Education Centre (MATREC)

The mission of MATREC is to propel applied research on advanced therapeutic products (ATPs) by helping research teams develop and adapt workflows to cGMP. MATREC provides access to an ATP manufacturing platform with an operational ISO7 clean room space to develop skills in cGMP and provides know-how to de-risk projects for clinical production and implementation of ATPs.

MATREC facilitates the development of skills in current good manufacturing practices among staff and researchers engaged in advanced therapy production. The overarching goal of MATREC is to narrow the divide between preclinical research and the clinical implementation of advanced therapies.

Students, professionals, and researchers supported by MATREC will develop skills related to the production of advanced therapies according to current good manufacturing practices (cGMP). Through collaboration with diverse stakeholders from academic, governmental, charitable, and private sectors, MATREC will offer hands-on training opportunities to students, staff, and researchers. Specifically, MATREC will aid researchers in modifying their bioproduction protocols for therapeutic agents to achieve clinical phase I or II standards.

Advanced therapies encompass human cells, tissues, and their derivatives, necessitating manipulations that may alter the product’s composition from its original source.

To achieve this, MATREC aims to:

• Develop training modules accessible to McGill students, as well as residents of Montreal, Quebec, and Canada, focusing on cGMP and advanced therapies.
• Assist researchers in translating their preclinical protocols for advanced therapies into production processes compliant with cGMP standards.
• Collaborate with academic, governmental, and nonprofit initiatives promoting cGMP training for advanced therapies.
• Partner with the private sector to train personnel and mitigate risks associated with the development of innovative therapeutic products.
• Support startup companies in developing advanced therapeutic products.
• Foster connections between translational research projects and Canadian clinical facilities specializing in the bioproduction of advanced therapies.
• Provide support for clinical research projects, extending to phases I and II.
• Transfer knowledge gained within its facilities to external clinical infrastructures when products advance to phases III and/or market launch.

Isolation of pancreatic islets for the treatment of diabetes

The islet transplantation program at the MUHC, led by Dr. Steven Paraskevas, has enabled the treatment of over 10 individuals with type 1 diabetes. MATREC facilities are utilized to separate pancreatic islets from the rest of the pancreas cells obtained from an organ donation. These islets are then transported to the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and infused into the liver of a recipient with type 1 diabetes.

MATREC’s infrastructure was initially developed to support this experimental clinical program. Since 2022, it has transitioned from the experimental stage to a program approved by the Ministry of Health and Social Services.

To learn more:

www.isletlab.org

MUHC designated first provincial establishment for islet cell transplants for patients with type 1 diabetes

Production of organoids from pluripotent stem cells

Prof. Corinne Hoesli leads a multi-institutional project on the therapeutic bioproduction of organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells. This project is funded by several industrial partners, including Médicament Québec. The project applies principles of chemical engineering and modeling using artificial intelligence to optimize culture protocols and scale them up.

MATREC supports the project by assisting the team in developing protocols and testing them in the clean room.

To learn more:

Scaling up stem cell-derived organoid biomanufacturing

Médicament Québec soutient un projet de mise à l’échelle de la biofabrication d’organoïdes thérapeutiques à partir de cellules souches (FR)

www.hoeslilab.com

Training workshop in collaboration with CATTI

The MRM partnered with the Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute (CATTI) to offer a hands-on workshop at McGill: Cell Therapy Bootcamp – Aseptic Techniques & Cleanroom Biomanufacturing for hPSC-based Therapeutics.

The 5-day course (Cell therapies on hPSC) is designed to teach the participants all the unit operations associated with the expansion of hPSCs in a 2D culture system while also focusing on the best practices for aseptic techniques, which are paramount when working in a clean room environment. In addition, we introduce and integrate aspects of GMP into the modules so that as the participants learn how to manipulate hPSCs as per industry practices they also get to practice elements of GMP.

The first MRM-CATTI Pilot stem cell cGMP workshop was offered on June 10-14, 2024. Stay tuned for upcoming workshops!