PHCbi Launches LiCellGrow for Production of Cell and Gene Therapies
Published: 13 Mar 2026
Author: Precedence Research
PHC Corporation’s Biomedical Division and subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation, launches its new cell expansion system, LiCellGrow. This system is designed to improve quality and efficiency in the production of new advanced therapies by allowing therapy developers to visualise metabolic changes in cells.
Cell and gene therapies (CGT), in which cells or genetic material are used to create personalised medical treatments, are rapidly advancing as promising treatment options for hard-to-treat diseases such as genetic disorders and cancer. Variation in cell characteristics and complexity of manufacturing are major challenges to maintaining a consistent quality product. To overcome these challenges, therapy developers need to be able to identify critical process parameters (CPPs) and critical quality attributes (CQAs) in CGT product manufacturing.
According to Toward Healthcare, the U.S. automated cell counting market is projected to experience significant growth, with estimates suggesting the market size will increase from USD 1.62 billion in 2026 to approximately USD 5.38 billion by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.24% from 2026 to 2035. This market has ability to monitor cell status and control conditions based on cell status is indispensable to developing quality CGT products at scale efficiently and at a lower cost.
In-Line Monitoring Technology Automates Control and Optimisation of Culture Conditions.
LiCellGrow continuously tracks real-time changes in culture conditions and cell status, which automates medium exchange based on the acquired metabolic data. It maintains the cultural environment consistently in an optimal state, contributing to improving cell quality and enhancing manufacturing efficiency. This system supports the development of science and is highly reproducible in manufacturing processes.
Single-Use Design Ensuring Aseptic Conditions and Highly Reproducible Cell Culture
With automated measurement of culture conditions and using In-Line sensors, the sampling tasks previously required to check glucose and lactate concentrations are no longer necessary. This reduces the risk of cross-contamination and enables closed-system cell culture. The device can be placed inside a standard CO2incubator used in a lab, eliminating the need for special facility investments and allowing users to easily establish a reliable and highly reproducible culture environment.
A recent report by Toward Healthcare highlights that the U.S. automated cell counting market offers therapy developers a new way to solve common challenges in quality, cost, and delivery of cell and gene therapies. This process is in real time and automatically controls culture conditions. It also represents an important step forward in making CGT manufacturing efficient, reliable, and scalable.