Report on Webinar Series Cell and Gene Therapy: From Concept to Clinical Use

Christopher F Van Der Walle,Christine Dufès,Zahra Rattray,Julie Kerby,Alice Tam,Arpan S Desai,Joanne Broadhead

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics14010168

Abstract

With the launch of the UK Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products Focus Group in late 2020, a webinar series reviewing the current and emerging trends in cell and gene therapy was held virtually in May 2021. This webinar series was timely given the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the global COVID-19 pandemic impacting all sectors of the pharmaceutical sciences research landscape globally and in the UK. Delegates from the academic, industry, regulatory and NHS sectors attended the session where challenges and opportunities in the development and clinical implementation of cell and gene therapies were discussed. Globally, the cell and gene therapy market has reached a value of 4.3 billion dollars in 2020, having increased at a compound annual growth rate of 25.5% since 2015. This webinar series captured all the major developments in this rapidly evolving area and highlighted emerging concepts warranting cross-sector efforts from across the community in the future.

Highlights

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK; Advanced Drug Delivery, Pharmaceutical Science, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB2 0RE, UK; Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, c/o Bionow, Greenheys Business Centre, Manchester Science Park, Pencroft Way, Manchester M15 6JJ, UK
The Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APS- the UK Pharmaceutical sciences community) hosted a virtual webinar series in May 2021 on the topic of cell and gene therapy, holistically combining concepts from bench discovery to their clinical implementation. This was a flagship event for the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) Focus Group which was launched in fall 2020
The presentation concluded with questions and answers, and it was noted that manufacture of T cell drug product under GMP is well established at several clinical sites worldwide [14]

Summary

Introduction

[13] With the move towards closed, aseptic processes both for vector critical starting material and cell drug product, there is a need to design and characterise custom single-use systems. The presentation concluded with questions and answers, and it was noted that manufacture of T cell drug product under GMP is well established at several clinical sites worldwide [14].

Results

Conclusion