STACCATO · European Industrial Doctorate for enhancing upstream biopharmaceutical manufacturing process development through single cell analysis

Our ability to utilise biological systems to produce medicines has improved the quality of life for millions of EU citizens. In recent years a new wave of exciting biopharmaceuticals have been discovered with the potential to advance current treatments for a variety of disorders. These new medicines, however, are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to manufacture. Overcoming the inherent heterogeneity of cells grown in vitro to produce effective, uniform and safe biopharmaceuticals is one of the most significant challenges faced by industry today.The STACCATO European Industrial Doctorate has been specifically designed to strengthen Europe’s innovation capacity and leadership in the BioPharma sector. The consortium will provide exceptional intersectoral training to 11 ESRs through pioneering research focused on harnessing recent advances in single cell analysis to generate and apply a new suite of tools for cell culture process development. ESRs will participate in a specialised training programme to build their proficiency in essential research and industry disciplines. Additional training in professional skills and entrepreneurship will enable ESRs to become future leaders in biopharmaceutical manufacturing science.STACCATO is composed of an industry leader in instrumentation for cellular analysis, 3 innovative biotechnology SMEs, a leading academic institution and a research conducting biological medicines regulatory agency. The STACCATO EID will immerse all ESRs in highly dynamic industrial environments while receiving supervision from leading academics. A feature of STACCATO is collaboration amongst experts in the production of different biopharmaceuticals such as therapeutic proteins and CAR T cell therapy. All ESRs will receive unparalleled exposure to pan-biopharmaceutical manufacturing challenges to foster collaboration, catalyse synergies across the network and ultimately create a truly unique training experience.