The Why Behind The Expense Of Cell Therapy Manufacturing

During our second Cell & Gene Live – Can Innovation Drive Down Cell Therapy Manufacturing Costs? – panelists Dr. Mark Gilbert, SVP of R&D of Acepodia; Thomas Lequertier, Head of Cell Therapy Manufacturing Unit of Celyad Oncology; and Ludek Sojka, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of SOTIO discussed how both allogeneic and autologous therapies alike are affected by the high cost of manufacturing. Indeed, the high cost of producing new cell therapies, particularly gene-edited cell therapies such as CAR T-cell therapy, for example, are notoriously expensive. Advancements in manufacturing are driving costs down, but not at the required pace. The complex manufacturing process that these biological treatments require means that their price is currently at a premium. 

In this webinar segment, Dr. Mark Gilbert, Thomas Lequertier, and Ludek Sojka address the reasons why cell manufacturing has been expensive to date — from viral vector production to the quality testing of a single-lot product, and more.