Remarkable progress is being made in the treatment of cancer. Among the most promising approaches is immune cell therapy, the most prominent type of which is CAR-T therapy.
CAR-T therapies have been approved since 2017 and hundreds of clinical trials are now underway. While the race to develop these complex therapies continues to pick up speed, strategies to reduce the steep costs associated with their manufacturing are evolving at a rapid pace.
In this article, we outline the factors contributing to the high cost of goods, several of which also impact the consistency, potency, and safety of the cell therapy products. In response to these challenges, we explore how the manufacturing process can be simplified, streamlined, and automated, making it more robust and cost effective to produce these life-saving therapies while getting to the finish line faster.