By historical biopharmaceutical industry standards, cell and gene therapies are extremely complex. At the same time, because many of the therapies are intended to address acute unmet medical needs, there is a lot of pressure to develop solutions quickly. Workforce needs and production capacity, as well as complexity and cost, are all key obstacles.
The scarcity of viral vectors like adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentivirus is stifling the growth and development of gene and cell therapies.
Collaboration can help hasten the resolution of challenges that arise when trying to manufacture efficiently at commercial scale as these therapies go through development.
Companies are bringing together industry thought leaders and technical experts to build a collaborative, precompetitive work programme that can both advance and increase access to important process and analytical technologies. Developing and supporting workforce initiatives to help meet the fast expanding demand for viral vector manufacturing skills in technical development, production, quality, and regulatory disciplines will set major breakthrough.