GENOPOLE / GATEX - Platform for strain screening and pre-industrial bioproduction
Technological platform
GATEX (short for Grow And TEst to the power X) is a pre-industrial bioproduction platform launched by Genopole in 2025. It provides a strategic bridge between laboratory research and pilot-scale production, equipped with precision fermenters ranging from a few milliliters to 20 liters. Operated by Genopole, this infrastructure enables biotech start-ups, SMEs, and research centers to optimize their fermentation processes, assess the robustness of their strains (bacteria, yeasts, fungi), and refine culture media formulated with industrial-grade ingredients. By pooling cutting-edge equipment, GATEX reduces both the cost and the risks associated with scale-up. The platform offers high-throughput screening, process development, analytical quality control, and project engineering support. Integrated within the Paris Biofoundry, GATEX is part of a collaborative and interdisciplinary ecosystem. Through this facility, Genopole facilitates the transition toward industrialization without requiring heavy upfront investments. An expansion to 1,200 sqm is already planned by 2028 to further increase production capacity. By supporting biotech innovation, GATEX contributes to France’s industrial and environmental sovereignty, aligned with the ambitions of the France 2030 plan.
4 rue Pierre Fontaine
Pépinière Genopole Entreprises
91000 EVRY-COURCOURONNES
Technologies utilisées
GATEX is an advanced technological infrastructure designed to support the development and controlled scale-up of bioprocesses for the production of high-value proteins and other molecules of interest.The platform features a dedicated laboratory for the preparation of culture media, specifically adapted to industrial-grade ingredients.
It also includes a preculture area (for bacteria, yeasts, and non-filamentous fungi) that enables reproducible culture initiation before transfer to precision liquid-phase fermenters.
For screening, GATEX operates a high-throughput platform equipped with multiple liquid-handling robots combined with micro-fermenters (Biolector XT-MF or Biomektor) and additional devices, allowing up to 960 culture conditions to be tested simultaneously—significantly accelerating strain and media optimization.
For progressive scale-up, GATEX offers 6 Multifors 2 (Infors HT) mini-fermenters with a one-liter capacity, Biostat B (Sartorius) bioreactors of 2 and 5 liters, a 10-liter Techfors-S (Infors HT), a 20-liter Biostat C Plus (Sartorius), and a 30-liter Techfors-S (Infors HT). These systems enable pilot-scale process simulation (USP – upstream process) with precise control of key parameters such as pH, agitation, and oxygenation.
On the downstream process (DSP) side, GATEX provides a wide range of solutions, analytical support, and rigorous quality controls to ensure product reproducibility, robustness, and quality.
The GATEX team brings strong project engineering expertise to support the design, development, and optimization of biotechnological processes. Biofabrication is central to GATEX’s mission, enabling the validation of production routes for molecules of interest—such as recombinant proteins, biomolecules, cosmetic or agri-food ingredients, and biomaterials—under industrial-grade conditions.
Through its integration within the Paris Biofoundry, GATEX benefits from a multidisciplinary ecosystem (microbiology, synthetic biology, engineering) and helps facilitate pre-contractual industrial partnerships, supporting the transition from demonstrator-scale to larger-scale production.
Keywords
Types de prestations
- R&D Collaboration
Offres de prestations
Département(s) de recherche
- SDV (Life sciences)
Certifications
- Other