Discussion

As the cell and gene therapy sector has matured, Industrial attention has shifted from firstly the discovery science, then to regulatory/clinical challenges and now on to product manufacturing, supply and reimbursement. Heterogeneity across the sector certainly exists, with regards to commercial manufacturing models for patient-specific and non-specific products, but a common theme is how to make product at a Cost of Goods which is not only affordable to payers, but retains efficacy and safety. We often hear that the field of regenerative medicine is today where the biologics industry was 20 years ago. Some elements of this are certainly true, and within the seminar we shall consider how cell and gene therapy can continue to learn from its more mature cousin. We shall also reflect on where our sector is more advanced, and how the broader bio-medicine sector is looking to learn from cell therapies, including End to End patient supply chains, smaller batch manufacturing and patient-specific products.