Esco Aster provides biosciences and biotools that deliver the highest yields, linear
scalability, the lowest cGMP costs and quality by design with built-in process analytical technologies
(PAT). Every tool we supply is one we run ourselves in our own process development and cGMP
manufacturing.
Tools proven in cGMP, not just in a catalogue
Most tool suppliers sell equipment and step back. Esco Aster is a cGMP CRDMO, so we run the
biotools every day in our own contract research, development services, clinical trial material and
commercial manufacturing. When you buy from us, you get the instrument together with the know-how to scale
it this also ensures that you start process development from our RUO tools that are also used in our cGMP
Facility ensuring seamless ease of tech transfer.
- Linear scalability by design. The Tide Motion® platform uses the same principle and parameters from a 0.1 L packed bed for seed preparation up to 5,000 L packed-bed volume, bioequivalent to about 50,000 L in suspension. Process parameters do not have to be re-derived at each scale.
- Lower cost of goods. Higher cell density in a smaller footprint means less media, labour and cleanroom space. For example, one CelCradle® bottle with 5.5 g of BioNOC II® macrocarriers replaces about 20 roller bottles of 850 cm² each.
- Quality by design with PAT. The platform includes pH and DO sensing, closed single-use sampling, in-process cell counting and rapid glucose monitoring, so you control the process instead of testing quality in at the end.
- A path to spin-off/spinout. Late stage grants supporting our linearly scalable platform provide ease in spinning of since what is developed and published in patents and academic journals is easily translatable hence this extends patent shelf life as well as making process transfer seamless. In Vitro and In Vivo data as well generated using material produced by Tide Motion as process is product is more easily translatable when Esco Aster MetaMorphosis enables spinning off/spinning out which translates to faster time to clinic.
- A path to GMP. TideXcell® systems are used in cGMP facilities producing commercial human and animal vaccines, certified to FDA, EU cGMP, JIS and PIC/S standards. They support SCADA integration with 21 CFR Part 11 compliance.
- One partner from bench to venture-co creation, acceleration, clinical and commercial. When you are ready, Esco Aster can develop, transfer and manufacture your process on the same platform.
Our Portfolio: from Esco Aster Bioengineering, Taichung, Taiwan
Esco Aster distributes the following products, manufactured by Esco Aster Bioengineering in
Taichung, Taiwan.
Adherent Tide — first in class for adherent cells and their
derivatives
The Adherent Tide Motion® family solves the adherent scale-up problem. A gentle upward and
downward movement of medium, at about 2 mm/s, cycles cells on BioNOC II® macrocarriers between nutrition and
aeration. Cells see very low shear, no bubbling or foaming, and dual oxygenation at every scale. Because
cells stay fixed in the packed bed, harvesting is simpler and downstream costs fall.
CelXrocker™
Scale: Benchtop rocker
Use: Proof of concept with macroporous carriers in flasks
MiniTide®
Scale: Compact, high throughput
Use: Parallel screening of exosomes, MSCs, vaccines and viruses; drug
discovery
Bellostage®/Bellocell®
Scale: Compact, high throughput
Use: Parallel screening of exosomes, MSCs, vaccines and viruses; drug
discovery
CelCradle® / CelCradle® X
Scale: 0.1 L packed bed
Use: R&D, seed train and process optimisation; single-use, with batch,
fed-batch or perfusion modes.
- CelCradle comes in BSL2 and BSL3 versions.
- CelCradle X runs on adherent and suspension single use bottles with or w/o microcarriers.
Celshaker™,CelCradle® X ACHS
Scale: 0.1 L -0.3L packed bed automated harvesting
Use: Automated cell harvesting system for Bellocell, CelCradle, CelCradle X
single use biroeactors.
TideXcell®
Scale: 2 L to 300 L packed bed
Use: Pilot and clinical production with pH/DO control, single-use or
hybrid, closed automated harvesting (TXLHS, above 90% recovery)
TideXcell® large-scale
Scale: 3,500 L to 5,000 L packed bed
Use: Commercial production of viruses, viral vectors, biosimilars and
cell-based foods
Typical applications: viral vaccines (VERO, MDCK and others), oncolytic viruses, viral vectors (Retrovirus, Lentivirus), mesenchymal stromal cells, fibrobast cells, exosomes and extracellular vesicles, cell derived nanovesicles, induced pluripotent cells, recombinant proteins in continuous processing for more than 3 months, and cellular agriculture. CelCradle® and TideXcell® can be integrated into Esco isolators for BSL-3/4 work or autologous and allogeneic cell therapy.
Tidewave™ — First In Class For Immune Cells, Adherent
Cells And Suspension Cells
TideWave™ is a GMP-compliant, single-use cell expansion platform that integrates
real-time monitoring and control of pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and temperature into one system,
combining two modes on a single platform:
- Wave mode for suspension culture, including immune cells such as NK, HSCs, PBMCs, CAR-T and CAR-NK.
- Tide mode, which moves medium through a packed bed of carriers at very low shear for adherent cells such as Vero, MSCs and muscle stem cells, on microcarriers or macrocarriers.
One platform therefore covers immune-cell therapies, stem cells and their derivatives, viral
production and cultivated meat. It scales linearly from research grade to GMP manufacturing.
Celcultura - Advancing Cell Culture Through
Single-use Innovation.
CelCultura™ single-use bags are designed for static, rocking, and suspension cell
culture applications, supporting biopharmaceutical workflows from seed train development and cell
expansion to scalable production, Featuring highly permeable materials for efficient gas
exchange.
CelCultura™ bags provide the flexibility to function as standalone culture vessels or
integrate seamlessly with Esco’s TideWave™ or CelXrocker™.
- Process-Specific Customization
- Highly permeable materials facilitate efficient gas exchange, supporting healthy and consistent cell growth.
- Designed for closed-system operation, helping minimize environmental exposure and contamination risks.
- Supports flexible process development and scalability to accommodate changing production requirements.
- Enable integration with Esco platforms (CelXrocker, TideWave) for streamlined workflows.
Cell Culture Media Optimised For Tide Motion®
Our adherent and immune cell culture media are formulated for the Tide Motion® environment:
Super Plus™: a chemically defined, low-protein supplement that reduces or eliminates serum in commercial basal media and cuts serum or serum-free medium use by up to 90%. It supports MDCK, VERO, BHK, ST, PK-15, HEK-293 and CHO cells.
Plus™ VERO and Plus™ MDCK: animal component-free media developed specifically for these vaccine cell lines.
MSCs+: Formulation for MSCs (available in Q1 of 2027).
Immune cell media: formulations for immune cell expansion on TideWave™.
GlucCell® glucose monitoring
GlucCell® is a palm-sized glucose meter calibrated for cell culture medium, not blood. It is a simple, low-cost PAT tool for daily process control:
Reads glucose in under 15 seconds from a 1.5 µL sample.
Measures 20 to 600 mg/dL with 99.5% correlation to benchtop biochemical analysers, at about 1% of their cost.
Calibration-free, uses disposable strips and stores 180 results.
Works in serum or serum-free media, for mammalian and insect cells.
The product line is completed by BioNOC II® macrocarriers, single-use closed sampling
ports and sensors, the Crystal Violet Dye nuclei count kit for in-process cell counts, and
TideXcell® harvesting systems.
PuriCradle - Simplifying Cell Processing: Efficient
Washing and Cell Separation
PuriCradle™ is single-use, closed, column-free and beadless centrifugation solution for GMP cell processing. Used with the cGMP-compliant Esco Infinity™ Centrifuge, it supports operation in Grade C or D cleanrooms*, reducing reliance on open centrifuge tubes and higher-grade cleanroom environments.
Versatile cell processing: PuriCradle™ enables cell washing and formulation after expansion, cryoprotectant removal before administration, and preparation for cryopreservation.
Simplified PBMC isolation: Isolate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from whole blood using density gradient media and/or antibody kits—without columns, magnetic beads or separators.
Enabling point-of-care processing: By facilitating cell isolation directly from whole blood, PuriCradle™ reduce reliance on apheresis or leukapheresis equipment, supporting more accessible cell and gene therapy workflows.
*The suitability of a Grade C or D cleanroom environment is subject to risk
assessment and compliance with country-specific regulations, internal quality management
systems, and clinical development stage requirements.
PuriCradle - Simplifying Cell Processing: Efficient Washing
and Cell Separation
Our biotools are the entry point to the Esco Aster idea-to-exit offering. Start with a tool in your own lab, then bring in our services when you need them, without changing platform.
The parameters you set on a Tide Motion platform in your lab are the same parameters we run
up till production scale. Your data transfers with your process.
| If you are... | Biotool | Esco Aster service that takes you further |
|---|---|---|
| Screening candidates or running early research | MiniTide®, CelXrocker™, GlucCell® | Drug Discovery, Research Services, Autonomous Labs |
| Building a cell line or cell bank | MiniTide®, CelXrocker™, GlucCell® | Cell Line Creation, Master Cell / Microbial Banking |
| Developing and optimising your process | CelCradle, CelCradle® X, TideWave™, Tide-optimised media | cGMP Process Development, Specialized Media Development |
| Closing, automating or customising your process | CelCradle X, automated cell harvesting. | cGMP Process Development, MSAT as a Service |
| Moving to the clinic | TideXcell®, TideWave™ | Clinical Trial Material, GLP Tox, Aseptic Fill & Finish |
| Building your own facility | Tide Motion® Platform: From Process Development to Production at Scale | Enterprise Solutions, internal tech transfer to your chosen country |
| Raising funds |
Platform data and COGS models |
COGS & TEA, Strategic Capital, Accelerator Programs |
Channel Partner for Complementary Technologies
Esco Aster also acts as a channel partner for third-party products from three groups: our strategic investors and their portfolio companies, our strategic partners, and our sister company, Esco Lifesciences Group. We choose products that complement the Tide Motion® platform and that we can support with our own application expertise.
From Esco Lifesciences Group, this includes laboratory and bioprocess essentials such as
biological safety cabinets, CO₂ incubators, centrifuges, cold-chain storage, isolators and containment
systems, and aseptic filling lines. These are backed by Esco's global network of 25 direct sales and service
offices.
Exclusive in Singapore
In Singapore, Esco Aster is the exclusive channel partner for a selected range of these products, including:
Etta Biotech flow electroporators. Etta Biotech, based in Suzhou, China, develops
patented flow electroporation technology. In flow electroporation, cells move continuously through an
electrode chamber, so large volumes can be transfected in one closed run instead of many small cuvettes.
This non-viral method of delivering DNA, mRNA or gene-editing payloads suits scaling cell and gene therapies
such as CAR-T and CAR-NK. It pairs naturally with TideWave™ for immune-cell expansion.
Support From Scientists Who Use the Tools
- Application support. Our process development scientists help you move from T-flasks, roller bottles, cell stacks or microcarriers onto Tide Motion®, using their own cGMP experience.
- Training and demonstrations. Hands-on onboarding at our Singapore sites, plus webinars on Tide Motion, stirred-tank and vaccine process development.
- Installation, qualification and maintenance. IQ/OQ support and preventive maintenance for consistent performance.
- Documentation. Product guides, protocols, technical reports and white papers on vaccine and viral production with Tide Motion®.
Talk to a Bioprocess Specialist
Tell us about your cells, your product and your target scale. We will recommend the right
tools today and show you the path to cGMP manufacturing tomorrow.
Contact Us