Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult says GlaxoSmithKline is expanding its clinical trial manufacturing capacity in Stevenage, UK to drive its gene therapy pipeline.

 No financial details have been disclosed, however through this agreement GSK is set to leverage the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) Stevenage facility to improve its GMP cell processing network and, in turn, streamline technical transfer and develop its gene therapy pipeline.

“GSK is the seventh collaborator to join and this increases further the breadth of expertise present in the facility,” CEO of CGT Catapult, Matthew Durdy told BioProcess Insider. “GSK brings the large pharma perspective while gaining from SME perspective, allowing all to move forward with collective knowledge rather than unilaterally.”

CGT Catapult center. Image c/o CGT Catapult website

Some of the other companies that have taken residency at CGT Catapult include Achilles Therapeutic, Autolus, and Freeline.

According to CGT Catapult, the agreement highlights what the UK cell and gene therapy ecosystem has to offer and speaking specifically about its own model, the firm said it is “unique” and accelerates “the setup of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) manufacturing at scale.”

“The UK already has significant capabilities in cell and gene therapy, and this agreement illustrates how strategic investments by GSK can make them even stronger,” said Tony Wood, senior vice president, Medicinal Science and Technology of GSK. “Working more closely with CGT Catapult will help us advance our promising cell and gene therapy programmes and bring these transformative medicines more quickly to the patients who desperately need them.”

The manufacturing center said the cell and gene therapy space has seen an increase of 48% in the UK, which has more than 90 ATMP developers. It claims this increase has driven the expansion of the CGT Catapult facility and the addition of six extra cleanrooms which facilitated this agreement.

The expansion has been hailed by CGT Catapult as “another significant and successful step in the growth of cell and gene therapy activities in Stevenage and the UK as a whole.”

“As with all our collaborations, CGTC’s investment is in the form of providing access to capabilities and expertise through our unique collaborative model. CGTC does not provide financial support to collaborators and no financial information were provided by GSK who will be utilising one of the twelve modules in the facility,” Durdy told us.