How Do We Make Cell Therapy A Long-Term Sustainable Business?

By Cody Powers, Alex Teixeira, and Pedro Ornelas

CAR-T assets have not met analyst expectations despite having higher pricing today than “conventional” off-the-shelf options. This is largely driven by the complex logistical process of cell therapy manufacturing where the typical end-to-end cell therapy product journey takes 20+ days and involves many steps and stakeholders. The journey is prone to delays and manufacturing issues which can have an impact on clinical outcomes for late-stage oncology patients with time-sensitive conditions.

These manufacturing barriers are limiting the scalability, financial feasibility and commercial potential of cell therapies and prevents the ecosystem from reaching its ideal state. The following key barriers impacting the long-term viability of cell therapy manufacturing will be explored in this article:

• Complex delivery logistics and a long end-to-end journey
• Constrained production capacity and inability to scale
• High short and long-term manufacturing costs