Terumo BCT is a company involved in blood component, therapeutic apheresis and cellular technologies. StafaCT software supports healthcare facilities and cell labs involved in cellular therapy. Its suite of products covers data management, operational workflows, and compliance monitoring for the entire cellular therapy process from the initial referral to infusion and follow up. The staff comprises the former cellular therapy product team at Velos. StafaCT was spun out into its own company in 2015 [1].
An autologous transplant is a type of transplant that uses the person’s own stem cells. The cells are collected in a procedure called apheresis and returned at a later stage. They are used to replace stem cells that have been damaged by high doses of chemotherapy, used to treat the person’s underlying disease such as blood cancer. StafaCT and the Sarah Cannon Blood Cancer Network have co-developed a software package to manage each phase of the autologous cell transplant process.
Autologous transplants are a modality to treat a number of different blood cancers – leukaemias lymphomas and myeloma, and certain solid tumours such as breast cancer, testicular cancer, osteosarcoma and others. Autologous transplants create the opportunity to use high dose chemotherapy, which gives some people with a better chance of cure or long-term control of their disease [2].
Cell therapy is a growing sector of regenerative medicine which includes stem cell transplants for blood cancer patients and other diseases, as well as the newly FDA approved Chimeric antigen T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. A key component of autologous (derived from the patient) CAR-T therapy is storage as well as future off-the-self (out of the biobank) or allogeneic cell therapy.
Stafa Cellular Therapy Lab software features facilitate, product receipt, product processing, product storage (biobanking), product distribution, and product record review. The features can all aid in the automation and streamlining of cellular therapy delivery, which could lead to cost savings.
Sources
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-collaboration-with-stafact-will-optimize-patient-pathways-for-cellular-treatments-300603735.html
- http://www.leukaemia.org.au/treatments/stem-cell-transplants/autologous-self-transplants
