Advanced cell and gene therapy is the future of medicine. It brings new hope and solutions for some severe diseases where conventional medicine fail to provide answers. Not just that, it has the potential to change the entire process of treatment in healthcare and for better. But the complexity, cost, and sensitivity involved in its production restrict its medical use. Overcoming these challenges will be a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of medicine. Turning this imagination into reality, Atvio Biotech Ltd. is redefining the future of healthcare.
Atvio is a specialty cell & gene therapy (CTG) process development and innovation center. The company is a unique blend of scientists, biotech engineers, GMP experts, and engineering expertise, aiming to bridge the gap between science and technology. It believes that CTG is the future of medicine and without new and unique innovations, which will enable bringing the science to the patients, the industry will never deliver to its potential. Atvio is working towards making this a reality by combining its expertise with the therapy developers and innovating in the manufacturing space.
The Multifaceted Persona
Dr. Ohad Karnieli is the Founder and President of Atvio. He is a big believer of CTG and its potential for helping patients and has been in this industry for over two decades. In addition to being a scientist, Dr. Karnieli always had an attraction towards engineering and headed a medical device division in an Israeli company. This experience changed his perspective on what can be done with good engineers and tools. He headed technology and manufacturing at a prominent company where he got the chance to design a state-of-the-art facility and technology with highly talented team members. Like others, Dr. Karnieli identified the gap translating the science to the clinic. The difference was that he decided to take action and jump into the gap and build the bridge that would enable CTG companies to cross safely and bring their therapies to the patients.
One of his biggest achievements is “infecting” a group of talented people with the vision of thinking differently and innovating to make therapies accessible to patients. The vision and spirit of helping bring lifesaving innovative therapies to patients, every day, drives him and the whole team of Atvio.
The Journey of Atvio
As the realization came to him, Dr. Karnieli set to influence the industry and help get treatment to the patients by extending his expertise not only to one company but to the industry, holistically. He then left the position of VP at his previous company and started to dream of building a venture that would provide tools and development services to make therapies accessible to all. That is when Atvio was born!
Believing that CTG is the future and providing a unique blend of scientific and development expertise with engineering skills is critical, he built a team of experts. However, getting the funds to start the company was not so easy. Dr. Karnieli overcame this challenge but was introduced to another one. Being based in Israel, Atvio realized that the industry for cell and gene therapy lied outside; in the US, the EU, and Asia. But Israel also brought with it an advantage of being the best place in the world to innovate with the best ecosystem and talent with a world winning record. Converting all its challenges to opportunities, Atvio has today emerged to be an excelling company in its field.
The major breakthrough for Atvio was the presentation of ADVA CART device, which has been developed by Atvio for ADVA biotechnology. This device is a great example of the company’s unique offering. It will revolutionize the CART industry and will enable the therapy to patients all over the world at high availability and low price. Such a game-changing device could only be developed with the unique amalgamation of people and expertise Atvio offers. Hereafter, there was no looking back.
Futuristic Products and Services
Atvio allows cell therapy developers to focus on their scientific and medical challenges and utilize the expertise, tools, and knowledge it has, to get their product manufactured at quality, scale, and price. It is difficult for the companies to find all the needed experience and expertise in such a complicated evolving industry and this is where Atvio comes to their aid. It does everything, from gap analysis via simple process improvements to custom-made enabling solutions, such as the ADVA device or tailor-made bioreactors to fit the specific need.
ADVA, a revolutionary product by Atvio, has brought to reality the vision of a device where you insert blood from one side and get CART from the other in a hospital. The company leverages its potential to overcome the bug challenges the industry faces.
What makes the company stand out is its constant innovation, the unique blend of expertise, and the best and most dedicated team one can find. Adding to that is the innovative and scientific ecosystem in Israel. Talking about his team, Dr. Karnieli asserts, “It’s all about the team! I have great team members who are dedicated, talented, and motivated to get the cell therapy to the patients. This blend of talent makes us unique and offers something different and better than anyone around.”
A Long Way to Go
Atvio’s latest focus is to build solutions such as the ADVA, which enable cost-effective, high-quality manufacturing at the point of care. The company always looks for and adopts new technologies and dares to try something new and better, every day. When asked about the future of Atvio, Dr. Karnieli says, “I see the company becoming stronger, validating our model and solutions, and starting to integrate unique tools and solutions with our partners on their therapies. I do believe our unique offering will be more prominent in the next few years, once people see the solutions we provide our partners.”
Atvio believes that good science is the base of all therapies but without innovative manufacturing solutions and good development, patients will not be able to access them. This is exactly what the company is set to do.
