Core Facilities

Cell Manipulation

Cell Manipulation Core

The (Connell and O'Reilly Families) Cell Manipulation Core Facility (CMCF), at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) was created in 1996 to be the manufacturing facility which produce safe and effective novel cellular component therapy that would meet regulatory guidelines for clinical use and also facilitate research to be “translated” from the bench to the bedside. The goal of this facility is to assist DF/HCC investigators in developing new cell-based therapies for cancer and to support clinical research studies designed to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of these novel treatments.

In November 2004, CMCF moved to a newly constructed 6,700 square feet facility on the third floor and ground floor of the Jimmy Fund Building (JFB) at DFCI. The new facility is dedicated to the production of clinical grade cellular products for patients who participate in clinical trials conducted by DF/HCC investigators. All procedures are performed in environmentally controlled conditions according to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for cell and tissue processing. The third floor accommodates all of the production areas while space on the ground floor is devoted to the long-term storage of cellular products, tissues and samples in liquid nitrogen and mechanical freezers.

The CMCF is available to both clinical and laboratory investigators at all DF/HCC institutions and will provide services to patients at all DF/HCC affiliated hospitals. The staff of the CMCF are committed to working with DF/HCC investigators at all levels of clinical trial development and execution, including pre-clinical development, trial design, DF/HCC and FDA review, data management, quality control, internal and external audits as well as reports and publications. The Cell Manipulation Core Facility (CMCF) has been accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). The CMCF services as a Regulatory Core for Center for Human Cell Therapy and is also a member of the Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine.