Autologous cell therapies are derived from a patient’s own stem cells, typically collected from bone marrow. Those cells are then cultured, expanded, and reinfused back into the patient. Unlike allogeneic cell therapies, this process is repeated for each dose and for one patient. The one-to-one process carries several challenges to commercialization, including high development costs, the need to control the risks of manual processing, and compliance with strict timelines. This eBook presents two perspectives on addressing these challenges. The first…

The US approvals of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-Cell therapies Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) and Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and gene therapy Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec) in 2017 heralded a “new frontier of medicine.” But with great innovation comes great costs and criticism (such as the Kymriah’s US$475,000 price tag). Many companies argue that these one-off therapies represent good value for patients and payers compared with traditional treatments, however, no matter your perspective, the COGs picture for cell and gene therapies isn’t good and…

The peak of demand for curative cell and gene therapies will be unlike that of traditional drugs and thus could cause forecasting and overcapacity issues going forward. Predicting the future is always difficult, and poor decisions can be costly and highly damaging for a company. At the 2019 Phacilitate Leaders World and Stem Cell Summit in Miami, FL, several presentations and conversations focused on the forecasting dilemma and how manufacturing needs innovation, just to name two. This eBook details these…

Manufacturers of allogeneic cell therapies face development and commercialization challenges unlike those of traditional cell therapies. In a discussion with Phil Vanek of GE Healthcare, we outline several of the key challenges of processing these products and bringing them to market. Approaches for reducing development costs and lowering pricing are highlighted, and a separate analysis presents three pricing models specific for allogeneic “off the shelf” cell products.