What actually makes automation “stick” in cell therapy manufacturing? Is it the tech… or the trust?

In Episode 4 of Cell Mates, Fred sits down with Mary-Ann Santos from Thermo Fisher Scientific to unpack the real adoption flywheel: belief, fear, data, and the moment everything clicks when you see a robot run a process with your own eyes.

They go deep on why modular automation scales faster than “all-in-one” systems, how instrument design can make or break robotics integration, and why the most regulated environments are often the ones where robots shine the brightest (repeatability + sterility, plus, yes, robots don’t breathe).

Highlights include:

• The adoption flywheel: what speeds automation up (and what slows it down)
• Why data beats vibes: building confidence with peer-reviewed performance + demos
• Modular vs all-in-one systems: throughput, bottlenecks, and future-proofing
• “Robot-friendly” instruments: what makes automation easy vs painful
• GMP, sterility, and why humans (lovingly) are a contamination risk
• The next decade: decentralized manufacturing… and what still has to be true for GMP

This episode is about one thing: getting therapies to patients faster without blowing up quality, process trust, or regulatory reality.

New to Cell Mates? We’re the podcast where pharma, robotics, and automation collide to reimagine the future of medicine—one operation at a time.

What is a collaborative robot, and what makes it special? Why does this characteristic make it suitable for the pharma space?

In Episode 3 of Cell Mates, we explore how collaborative robotics could redefine manufacturing models, shift the role of human experts, and unlock entirely new possibilities in biomanufacturing.

Highlights include:

• What other industries can teach pharma about robotic adoption
  
  
• How to build trust in automation within highly regulated environments
  
  
• The “moonshot projects” that could change everything

This episode breaks down the future we’re building!

New to Cell Mates? We’re the podcast where pharma, robotics, and automation collide to reimagine the future of medicine - one operation at a time.

What tasks are humanoids uniquely good at and what does that mean for the future of work?

In Episode 2 of Cell Mates, we invite Tony Yang, Director of North American Markets from Unitree Robotics to discuss the future of humanoid robots and how robots can fundamentally change the future. We explore in particular what this means for the biomanufacturing industry.

Highlights include:

• Where do humanoids fit in pharma?
• What makes robotic adoption difficult (yet inevitable)?
• What could a future filled with humanoids could look like?

This episode breaks down what the robotic future might actually look like, and how close we are to building it!

New to Cell Mates? We're the podcast where pharma, robotics, and automation collide to reimagine the future of medicine—one operation at a time.