The viability and cell count of immunotherapies are extremely sensitive to temperature. Additionally, these products demonstrate reactivity to cooling and thawing rates between room temperature and refrigerated/frozen temperatures.1 The same sensitivity applies to apheresis material, which is susceptible to failure if not fully protected against temperature fluctuations.
Overcoming the challenges of manufacturing and administering a complex product to any patient is critical for delivering cell therapies. Here two industry experts provide practical advice on strategies to meet supply chain challenges.
As the second wave of CAR-T therapies begins coming to market in the next five years, their manufacturers will need to anticipate and prepare to address many of the same commercial challenges as their predecessors, as well as several additional ones.
Temperature-controlled packages used for the transport of gene therapy products use a combination of thermal insulators or thermoregulators to decrease the heat transfer rate from outside of the shipper to the inside. The overall design of the package is pivotal in achieving the minimal heat transfer rate.
Successful cell cryopreservation requires a controlled cooling rate. Cooling too rapidly or too slowly will lead to a poorer outcome. This study shows comparable results when freezing cells with or without a rapid-cooling nucleation step.
Key Biologics is harnessing new freezing technology to help deliver the future of medicine. Digitally enabled cryogenic cold chain technology can now deliver the raw materials needed to manufacture cellular therapies.
Artificial intelligence and Big Data have the potential to lower the cost and time of drug trials, to better determine patient outcomes with established drugs, and to better design new drugs.
In November 2018, I wrote an article about establishing a supply chain for autologous cell therapies — those formulated using a patient’s own cells. This partner piece highlights considerations that need to be taken into account when developing a commercialization and supply chain strategy for allogeneic cell therapies.
Having a sound logistics strategy to ensure that a living drug is delivered to the right patient at the right time, location, and temperature is essential to patient safety and product effectiveness.
Two of the field’s most valuable luminaries representing both academia and industry — Dr. Bruce Levine and Simon Ellison, ISCT Commercialization Committee — discuss determining how CMOs can and should successfully manage cell and gene therapy supply chains.
