Spreading the Cell and Gene Word

The development of cell and gene therapies has progressed with incredible pace. Dozens are now available, including three CAR T-cell therapies. Hundreds of clinical trials are underway, investigating treatments for solid tumors and even “cures” for blindness. It’s a hot topic in the pharmaceutical industry, but are doctors and regulators ready? And are patients prepared for this new frontier of medicine?

To help ensure patients who could benefit from advanced medicines do so, specialist communications agency, OVID Health, is set to launch the Cell and Gene Collective in the new year. “The unifying force behind the Collective is patients” said Roudie Shafie, Director at OVID Health and former head of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry’s Government Affairs team. “What that looks like in the short to medium term involves raising awareness of cell and gene therapies, particularly among the policy making and healthcare professional community. We also need to overcome any barriers that occur from regulatory approval onward in getting treatments to the patients who can benefit.”

Healthcare systems must be ready for cell and gene therapies, so Shafie, who is leading the project, sees a need for changes to the acute care environment – from workforce to supply chain to manufacturing – and even how they are procured and paid for. “We need a greater willingness by policy makers and payers to answer some of the difficult questions about how they value the life-changing potential of these new treatments,” she says. “Honestly, the most pressing issue, and the one we want to focus on, is supporting the NHS and others to continue to work collaboratively to ensure all patients who can benefit from these innovations now and in the future, can and do so.”

Keith Thompson, founder and former CEO of the Cell and Gene Catapult, also recently joined OVID. “We are at a crucial moment in the evolution of cell and gene therapies where we want to reach out to explain simply the promise of these new treatments,” he says.

Thompson believes cell and gene therapies could be part of a fundamental recalibration of how we treat disease. “The UK has done a great job in bringing the first wave of cell and gene therapies to patients mainly with rare and orphan diseases, but we have a tidal wave of them coming and a step change is needed. There is little bandwidth to make this step up today,” he says. “But we don’t think hope should wait – OVID is bringing together like-minded companies and patient organisations who want to see patients get these life-changing treatments as soon as they become available.”