Manufacturing of viral vectors for gene therapy: part I. Upstream processing

Abstract

Manufacturing technologies for the production of clinical grade viral vectors have been significantly improved in recent years. This is of utmost importance for gene therapy approaches used in the treatment of inherited or acquired diseases. This article briefly describes the general principles for the production of viral vectors. The specific sections are dedicated to more detailed descriptions of the production of adenoviral, AAV, γ-retroviral and lentiviral vectors. A subsequent article (the second part) will then deal with downstream processing (purification) of viral vectors.