Philip S. Orsino Cell Processing Laboratory

University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario
What the facility does

Offers cell processing and manufacturing services to support innovative anti-cancer cell therapies and blood and marrow transplantation.

Areas of expertise

The Philip S. Orsino Cell Processing Laboratory spans 2,900 sq. ft. and includes five independent clean rooms, cryogenic storage and abundant support space. The combination of advanced facilities and broad expertise in cell processing and manufacturing allows us to accommodate a vast variety of challenging cell therapy protocols. We offer a comprehensive package of customized services, including GMP grade cell processing for investigator-initiated trials, cell processing for industry sponsored trials and a full array of cell processing, manufacturing and regulatory consulting services to external commercial and academic partners.

Research services

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) grade cell and tissue processing capabilities, preparation of blood and marrow stem cells, separation of cells with specific function, In vitro cell expansion and manipulation, genetic manipulation of cells, cryopreservation, shipping, receiving and cryostorage of cell therapies, cell processing for externally and internally sponsored clinical trials, review and development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), review and development of clinical protocols and regulatory compliance, review of Research Ethics Board submissions, submission of regulatory packages to Health Canada.

Sectors of application
  • Healthcare and social services
  • Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized lab Equipment Function
Clean Area Clean suite (Class 10,000) equipped with a biological safety cabinet, incubators, refrigerators, cell processing equipment and computer workstations. Maintained at a negative pressure and dedicated to high containment applications, such as those involving pathogens.
Clean Area Clean rooms (Class 10,000) (4) equipped with a biological safety cabinet, incubators, refrigerators, cell processing equipment and computer workstations. Maintained at a relative positive pressure to minimize the possibility of product contamination.
Cryostorage Liquid nitrogen storage tanks Cryostorage services
Cryopreservation Controlled Rate Freezers Cryopreservation Services
Receiving/Quarantine Raw materials storage and quarantine spaces  
Quality Control Laboratories Quality Control Laboratories Abundant support space for quality control/quality assurance and assay development
  • Ontario Cancer Institute
  • Toronto General Hospital
  • The Hospital for Sick Children
  • Toronto Western Hospital
  • Mount Sinai Hospital