Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult opens new manufacturing center to accelerate UK industry

Written by Freya Leask
Cell therapy Industry developments Manufacturing & scale-up News

The center will advance scale-up and commercialization of UK innovation and will supply the Advanced Therapies Treatment Centers.

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult’s (CGT Catapult; London, UK) cell and gene therapy manufacturing center, which aims to support development of UK manufacturing capability, has opened in Stevenage (UK). With four companies already slated to move into the GMP Class B and C facilities, the center will ‘bridge the gap’ between scientific research and commercialization of the medicines of the future.

The center is backed by over £60 million of UK Government investment and will supply the network of Advanced Therapies Treatment Centers, which are designed to increase UK patient access to advanced therapies. Located within the rapidly growing cell and gene therapy cluster at the Stevenage BioScience Catalyst, the manufacturing center, alongside wider CGT Catapult initiatives, reinforces the UK Government’s ambition to drive the UK life sciences industry forward faster, more efficiently and with stronger returns.

“We are thrilled to open the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult manufacturing center with the Business Secretary Greg Clark and our initial collaborators, Autolus, Cell Medica, AdaptImmune, Freeline and Thermo Fisher Scientific,” explained Keith Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, CGT Catapult. “These companies have international activities and choices, and have chosen to develop European-based manufacturing in the UK.

“The manufacturing center is integral to the development of a thriving global cell and gene therapy industry. This is an area of medicine that has shown potential for decades and we now need new manufacturing technology like never before. The center is a major statement of intent and a springboard for industry in its global development. The launch of this important facility pushes the agenda forward and accelerates the timeframe for bringing these living medicines to patients.”

“The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult manufacturing center is a crucial component of the industrial strategy and part of the leading-edge healthcare technology challenge fund,” commented Dr Ian Campbell, Interim Executive-Chair Designate for Innovate UK (UK).

“This world-leading center will bring manufacturing of pioneering treatments closer to patients and will complement the new Advanced Therapy Treatment Centers. Innovate UK has been investing in advanced therapeutics since 2009 and is proud to support this center as it continues its mission to bring together enterprise and innovation for the benefit of society and the economy.”

Source: CGT Catapult press release