UK-Swiss project harnesses tech to lower cell and gene therapies cost
20 May 2024
Innovation agencies in the UK and Switzerland have together invested more than three quarters of a million pounds in a project to integrate digitisation and process analytical technologies (PAT) for cell and gene therapy manufacture.
The money provided by Innovate UK and Innosuisse will go to a consortium of three bodies that includes the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, life science solution provider Securecell and data analytics and bioprocess firm DataHow AG
For the project, Securecell will integrate PATs into their bioprocess sampling system and software. The system will be implemented into the CGT Catapult’s PAT laboratory and demonstrated during the production of an adeno-associated virus (AAV). In collaboration with DataHow, the data produced will be used to explore the benefits of using hybrid modelling approaches, such as digital twins, during the manufacturing of advanced therapies.
CGT Catapult chief executive Matthew Durdy said: “This project is an excellent example of how the advanced therapies sector can use new technologies to make highly complex and regulated processes more efficient and cost-effective, which is vital when it comes to ensuring that these therapies are affordable and accessible to healthcare services across the globe.”
DataHow chief innovation officer Moritz von Stosch said the collaboration would showcase how digital technologies could mitigate risks in cell and gene therapy process development and enhance outcomes without requiring additional resources.
