Singapore – 24 July 2026, Esco Aster Bioengineering, a leading provider of advanced bioprocessing technologies, today announced the launch of the CelShaker™, its latest automated cell harvesting system designed to improve downstream processing for GMP cell manufacturing. Developed to integrate seamlessly with the Bellostage®/CelCradle®/CelCradle X® platform, the CelShaker™ enables efficient, standardized, and scalable harvesting of adherent cells and cell-derived products while reducing manual intervention and improving process consistency.

As cell and gene therapies, clinical nutrition for both human & animal health veterinary continue to advance toward commercial manufacturing, reliable and scalable harvesting technologies have become increasingly important. The CelShaker™ addresses this need by providing a gentle, automated harvesting solution capable of recovering cells as the final therapeutic product, intracellular viruses, biomass, and valuable cell-derived materials for a broad range of research, clinical, and commercial manufacturing applications.

Designed for Versatile Cell Harvesting Applications

The CelShaker™ provides controlled, programmable agitation to facilitate the harvesting of a wide range of cell types and cell-derived products, making it an ideal solution for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), vaccine manufacturing, regenerative medicine, cellular agriculture, and bioprocess development.

Cell Therapy & Clinical Medicine

The CelShaker™ supports the harvesting of cells intended as the final therapeutic product, including:

• Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) for autologous and allogeneic therapies 
• Fibroblasts for regenerative medicine 
• Trophoblast cells 
• Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) 
• Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC)-derived therapeutic cells 

Primary cell sources include Mesenchymal Stromal Cells:

• Adipose tissue 
• Bone marrow 
• Umbilical cord 
• Wharton's Jelly 
• Umbilical cord lining 
• Dental tissue 
• Menstrual fluid 
• Amniotic fluid

Fibroblast Cells

• Skin-derived fibroblasts 
• Cardiac-derived fibroblasts 
  

Harvested cells beyond used as cell therapy can also be used for further manufacturing as genetically modified cells produced using:

• Viral vector-based gene delivery 
• Virus-free genetic modification approaches such as mRNA/plasmid transfection using continuous flow electroporation 
• Other advanced cell engineering technologies such as LNPs for enhanced targeting or cell immortalization 

Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Therapies

The CelShaker™ enables efficient harvesting of terminally differentiated cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), including:

• Dopaminergic neurons 
• Hepatocytes 
• Sensory hair cells 
• Cardiomyocytes 
• Insulin-producing beta cells 
• Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cells
• Other differentiated therapeutic cell types 

Vaccine Manufacturing

The CelShaker™ is well suited for harvesting intracellular viruses, particularly for vaccine production processes where whole cells serve as the manufacturing substrate.
Applications include:

• Marek's Disease vaccine produced using Chicken Embryonic Fibroblasts (CEF) 
• Other intracellular viral vaccine manufacturing workflows such as Adeno Associated Viruses (AAVs)

Cellular Agriculture & Clinical Nutrition

The CelShaker™ supports harvesting of cultured cells for next-generation nutrition and consumer health applications, including:

• Cultured muscle cells 
• Cultured fat cells 
• Functional proteins 
• Omega fatty acids 
• Collagen 
• Nutricosmetics 
• Nutraceutical ingredients 

Cell-Derived Products

The system is also suitable for harvesting cells intended for downstream isolation of valuable intracellular components and derivatives, including:

• Mitochondria for mitotherapy 
• Polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) for dermocosmetics 
• Cell-derived nanovesicles (CDNVs) for medical device coatings 
• Other intracellular biomolecules 

Bioprocess & Manufacturing Applications

Beyond therapeutic cell harvesting, the CelShaker™ supports a variety of upstream and downstream manufacturing processes, including:

• Biomass generation 
• As as seed train for culturing adherent cells in suspension.
• Harvesting iPSCs for subsequent seeding into: 
  • Conventional 2D culture
  • Tissue engineering patches
  • Three-dimensional bioreactors
  • Cell encapsulation bioreactor system

Standardized, Automated Harvesting for Scalable GMP Manufacturing

The CelShaker™ automates one of the most labor-intensive steps in adherent cell manufacturing by delivering controlled and programmable agitation for reproducible harvesting performance. When paired with the BelloStage® platform, the system helps improve process consistency, reduce operator variability, and support standardized manufacturing workflows across research, process development, and commercial GMP production.

Summary

As cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine, vaccine manufacturing, and cellular agriculture continue to evolve, manufacturers require robust and reproducible harvesting technologies capable of supporting scalable production. The CelShaker™ Automated Cell Harvesting System provides a standardized and automated solution for harvesting adherent cells, intracellular viruses, biomass, and cell-derived products while improving process consistency, reducing manual intervention, and supporting the transition from research to commercial GMP manufacturing.

Ready to modernize your adherent cell harvesting workflow?

Discover how the CelShaker™ Automated Cell Harvesting System can improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability in your manufacturing process. Contact the Esco Aster Bioengineering team to schedule a product demonstration or speak with our bioprocess specialists about your application.
Email: [email protected]

About Esco Aster

Esco Aster is a vertically integrated cGMP CRDMO x bioinnovation equity free venture accelerator delivering end-to-end “idea-to-exit” contract solutions—from consultancy and research to CMC development, manufacturing, testing, clinical development, business development, strategic capital and enterprise support.

We utilize the same linearly scalable patented biomfg platform for adherent, immune cells and their derivatives from discovery to delivery enabling seamless scale up from research to clinical and commercialization.

About Esco Aster Bioengineering

Esco Aster Bioengineering develops advanced bioprocessing technologies that accelerate the translation of innovative therapies from discovery to commercialization. By combining scalable cell culture platforms with automated manufacturing solutions, Esco Aster Bioengineering supports researchers and manufacturers in advancing regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapy, vaccine production, and next generation biomanufacturing.