IRVINE, Calif. — Vitrafy Life Sciences has partnered with Vitalant Innovation Center to support testing and process development for its next-generation frozen red blood cell cryopreservation platform.
The Irvine-based life sciences company said the collaboration is intended to help advance, validate and deploy its cryopreservation ecosystem as older glycerol-based frozen red blood cell technology approaches the end of its operational life.
Vitalant Innovation Center is part of Vitalant, one of the largest nonprofit blood and biotherapies healthcare organizations in the United States.
Vitrafy said glycerol-based cryopreservation has supported frozen red blood cell programs in the U.S. for decades, including rare-donor programs, mass-trauma preparedness and military forward deployment. The company said the processing equipment and materials used in those systems are being phased out, creating a need for a validated successor technology.
“The Vitalant Innovation Center is designed to support testing and process development for innovative ideas. As glycerol-based cryopreservation reaches end of life, we are pleased to partner with Vitrafy to support what can come next through our testing services at the Vitalant Innovation Center,” said Susanne Marschner, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Scientific Programs, Vitalant Innovation Center.
Vitrafy’s platform combines freezing technology, software, formulations and workflows into a liquid nitrogen-free cryopreservation system. The company said the platform is designed for use near the point of collection and could support mobile and decentralized cryopreservation for civilian healthcare and military operations.
The partnership will include a phased program covering planning, technology integration and evaluation of frozen red blood cell outcomes against performance, regulatory and operational milestones. Vitrafy said the in vitro findings are expected to help determine regulatory pathways and scaled deployment strategies.
“Vitalant is a pioneer in the U.S. blood market and one of the most respected organizations in the sector — there is no better partner to help establish what next-generation cryopreservation looks like at scale. But this work is bigger than any single partnership. The platform we’re building is designed to serve the entire blood community, and we genuinely hope other blood networks will join us in shaping it. We welcome that collaboration, and we look forward to government, regulatory, and military stakeholders engaging as the program moves forward,” said Brent Owens, CEO, Vitrafy Life Sciences.
Vitrafy said the platform is intended not only to replace existing frozen blood capabilities but also to expand where frozen blood can be used. Potential settings include pre-hospital environments and austere forward-deployed locations where current cryopreservation approaches may not be practical.
The company said it is inviting other blood services organizations, federal agencies, regulatory and standards bodies, and military and civilian leaders to engage in development of a next-generation cryopreservation standard for the U.S. blood system.
