Esco Aster Launches CelShaker™ Automated Cell Harvesting System for GMP Cell Manufacturing, Streamlining Downstream Processes

August 2, 2026

Esco Aster Singapore

Overview

Esco Aster Bioengineering has launched the CelShaker™, an automated cell harvesting system designed to significantly improve downstream processing for GMP cell manufacturing. This innovative system integrates seamlessly with existing culture platforms, offering controlled and programmable agitation to facilitate efficient harvesting of various cell types and cell-derived products. CelShaker™ aims to reduce manual intervention, enhance process consistency, and support scalable production for ATMPs, vaccines, and regenerative medicine, contributing to the faster market entry of cell therapy products.

In Depth

Key Findings

Esco Aster Bioengineering has launched the CelShaker™, an automated cell harvesting system poised to revolutionize downstream processing in GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliant cell manufacturing. This system dramatically enhances the efficiency and consistency of cell product recovery, contributing to reduced manual labor and the realization of scalable production. The introduction of CelShaker™ marks a crucial step towards bringing high-quality cell products to market more rapidly and cost-effectively in rapidly growing fields such as ATMPs (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products), vaccines, and regenerative medicine.

Technical / Clinical Details

The CelShaker™ is a modular, automated system engineered for seamless integration with Esco Aster’s existing bioprocess platforms. At its core, the system provides optimized, controllable, and programmable agitation protocols tailored to specific cell types and desired cell-derived products (e.g., extracellular vesicles, proteins). Traditional cell harvesting methods, often involving manual scraping or enzymatic digestion, are prone to variability and present significant challenges for scale-up. The CelShaker™ addresses this by utilizing uniform, gentle mechanical agitation, ensuring high recovery efficiency while preserving cell viability and functionality. This significantly improves process consistency and facilitates adherence to GMP requirements. The system is compatible with various culture vessel formats, enabling operations at different scales, from small-scale research and development to large-scale commercial production. Particularly for adherent cell cultures, it enables uniform cell detachment and efficient collection, thereby reducing the burden on subsequent downstream purification steps.

Background & Context

While the cell and gene therapy sector holds immense potential to revolutionize medicine, it has long been hampered by the complexity and cost of manufacturing processes. Specifically, the cell harvesting process following cell culture often relies on manual intervention, posing bottlenecks related to quality variability, contamination risks, and limitations in scalability for large-volume production. Such challenges have historically slowed the pace at which innovative cell therapies reach patients. The advent of automated cell harvesting systems like CelShaker™ is crucial for addressing these issues and driving end-to-end automation across the entire cell manufacturing process. Automation reduces labor-intensive tasks, minimizes operator-dependent human error, and consequently enhances productivity and reproducibility, ultimately contributing to a reduction in overall therapy costs.

Strategic Significance & Outlook

The launch of CelShaker™ underscores Esco Aster’s continued position at the forefront of cell manufacturing technology. This system is set to become an essential tool for standardizing and streamlining downstream processes in cell therapy, regenerative medicine, and vaccine manufacturing. Future developments are expected to integrate further automation and digitalization, enhancing real-time monitoring and adaptive control features within the manufacturing process, leading to even more sophisticated intelligent manufacturing systems. Such technological innovations lay the foundation for delivering much-needed cell products to patients worldwide in a more rapid and reliable manner. CelShaker™ holds the potential to improve the efficiency and scalability of the entire cell manufacturing ecosystem, becoming indispensable infrastructure for the development of next-generation medical products.

Source: https://www.escoaster.com/news/esco-aster-and-esco-aster-bioengineering-launches-celshaker-an-automated-cell-harvesting-system-for-gmp-cell-manufacturing

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