GSK Expands Clinical Trial Manufacturing Capacity for Cell and Gene Therapy at Catapult UK Facility

On March 11, 2021, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will expand its clinical trial manufacturing capacity for cell and gene therapies at CGT Catapult’s facility in Stevenage, UK. GSK will perform good manufacturing practice (GMP) cell processing at the facility to accelerate its cell and gene therapy pipeline for clinical trials.

Through the agreement, GSK will improve its GMP cell processing network to advance its early stage pipeline and streamline technical transfer, marking another significant step in the growth of cell and gene therapy activities in Stevenage and the UK as a whole. The added experience of GSK builds on expertise already in place with current CGT Catapult collaborators and will allow for the development of new capabilities to benefit future and current collaborators, already present and progressing their manufacturing onsite, CGT Catapult said in a company press release.

The UK currently has more than 90 advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP) therapy developers, and in 2020 has seen an increase of 48% in the UK GMP manufacturing space for cell and gene therapies. This increase also reflects the expansion of the CGT Catapult Stevenage facility, which included six additional cleanrooms.

“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. Working more closely with CGT Catapult will help us advance our promising cell and gene therapy programs and bring these transformative medicines more quickly to the patients who desperately need them,” said Tony Wood, senior vice-president, Medicinal Science and Technology, GSK in the press release.

“The move by a leading pharmaceutical company like GSK to establish ATMP manufacturing capabilities at the CGT Catapult facility in Stevenage highlights the UK’s globally leading position for large and smaller organizations alike to develop, manufacture, and deliver cell and gene therapies. With a range of collaborators already based in the facility, we look forward to participating in the collective innovation onsite to pioneer the growth in scale of advanced therapy manufacturing,” added Matthew Durdy, CEO of Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, in the press release.

Source: Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult