Moffitt Cancer Center and Cryoport Announce Strategic Collaboration
Moffitt Cancer Center, a leading National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, through its wholly owned subsidiary Speros, a 775-acre global innovation life sciences campus, and Cryoport, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYRX), a global leader in supply chain solutions for the life sciences industry, today announced a strategic collaboration that will provide CRYOGENE’s state-of-the-art biorepository services to Speros in Pasco County, Florida. Cryoport’s CRYOGENE business unit is a leading biorepository for the life sciences industry that is focused on the secure storage of biological specimens and associated services.
“Our goal is to make Speros the cell and gene therapy capital of the world,” said Patrick Hwu, M.D., president and CEO of Moffitt. “With the addition of CRYOGENE, we will accelerate discovery by igniting collaborations and partnerships across disciplines to bring new therapies to patients faster and save more lives. This collaboration builds upon Moffitt’s longstanding partnership with Cryoport’s CRYOGENE and serves as an initial step in transforming our campus into a global epicenter of innovation.”
“Having CRYOGENE’s facility with a seasoned team located directly on the Speros campus and at Moffitt’s research facility provides top-level research and biotech companies with the critical tools and infrastructure to immediately operate more effectively,” said Marshall Griswold, CEO of CRYOGENE. “We all share a common goal to save and improve patients’ lives, and our team is ready and eager to assist Speros and Moffitt in fulfilling this mission.”
The addition of CRYOGENE’s biostorage facility will lay the foundation for Moffitt’s Speros campus as a global epicenter for patient treatment and research in cell and gene therapies, immunotherapies, radiopharmaceuticals, proton therapies and other expanding technologies and treatment pathways. This facility will be included in the initial phase of the development of Speros and is located adjacent to Moffitt’s 250,000-square-foot Discovery & Innovation Center for research.
The 30,000-square-foot CRYOGENE facility will be located adjacent to Moffitt’s 250,000-square-foot Discovery & Innovation Center for research at Speros.
Jerrell Shelton, CEO of Cryoport, added, “We are honored to be partnering with Moffitt’s Speros campus to support the needs of research and cancer patients receiving medical care at this world class life sciences campus and cancer center. Through our collaboration, Cryoport’s CRYOGENE will provide cutting-edge biostorage technologies and logistics services to support patients’ treatments as well as the invaluable medical and biopharmaceutical research taking place at Moffitt to accelerate scientific discovery and save lives today and tomorrow.”
Biorepositories play a crucial role in the development and storage of cell and gene therapies, an industry projected to reach over $97 billion by 2033 with a compound annual growth rate of 18.3% from 2024 to 2033. CRYOGENE’s optimized storage techniques and strict quality control will enable reliable and scalable production and preservation of cells that will accelerate advancements in adoptive cell therapies. This is key to decentralizing manufacturing, reducing the turnaround time and bringing lifesaving treatments to patients more quickly.
The facility will enhance collaboration across Moffitt’s expanding health system while also supporting emerging blood sciences and organ and tissue biobanking protocols. The biorepository will provide streamlined access to critical research and clinical activities, along with essential capabilities for distributing research and treatment materials.
Moffitt’s Speros campus is an emerging medical city and global innovation hub in Pasco County, Florida.“Bringing a biorepository industry leader likeCryoport to our emerging life sciences campus is a foundational component of Speros in providing science as a service,” said Sabi Singh, Moffitt’s chief operating officer. “Speros will be a place where paradigm-shifting science impacts human health. This collaboration with Cryoport will drive other academic, clinical, life sciences, pharmaceutical and research institutions to join our mission.”
Speros’ master development plan for its global innovation life sciences campus spans multiple phases. Speros will expand the cancer center’s global footprint and will serve as a dynamic nexus for the convergence of biotech and life sciences. In its initial phases of development, Speros will focus on mission-critical activities, including cell and gene therapies, artificial intelligence, biotech, business incubators and accelerators, drug discovery, bioengineering, metabolism, data science, machine learning, health care, life sciences, basic research and complementary amenities. Construction on Moffitt’s outpatient and proton therapy center began in early 2023 and is scheduled for completion by 2026.
CRYOGENE focuses on the secure storage of biological material and provides innovative biostorage solutions to the research, biotech and pharmaceutical industries. With over 25 million samples securely stored and managed under its care, CRYOGENE provides the highest quality secure sample storage services available. CRYOGENE has two locations in Houston and San Antonio, Texas.
Images and renderings available here.