CGT Catapult launches commercial readiness advice clinics programme to help cell and gene therapy SMEs and spin-out companies accelerate towards commercialisation

CGT Catapult launches today their commercial readiness advice clinics programme part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Innovate UK. The programme will give SMEs and spin-out companies access to expert advice to evaluate and progress their product towards commercialisation.

The new commercial readiness advice clinics programme launched today by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) will allow cell and gene therapy small medium enterprises (SMEs) and spin-out companies to benefit from 12 hours of CGT Catapult tailored support towards accelerating commercialisation of their product.

Eligible companies will receive advice to accelerate their development time, de-risk their approach and increase their opportunities of accessing inwards investment. CGT Catapult currently counts over 200 experts based in the Development Centre in Guy’s hospital in central London and at their Manufacturing Centre in Stevenage. The team has expertise in all stages of commercialisation from process development to pre-clinical, clinical, health economics, regulatory, GMP manufacturing and adoption.

The commercialisation readiness advice clinics announced today aim to further develop the growth of the UK cell and gene therapy industry by supporting the progression of the pipeline of UK companies towards commercial supply. Recently, the CGT Catapult announced completion of the construction of additional space at their manufacturing centre in Stevenage, also part funded by ERDF and Innovate UK and the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. This has doubled their capacity, giving the opportunity to more companies to advance towards industrialisation through a unique collaborative operational and development model.

“It is at the heart of our mission to accelerate the progression of UK companies towards commercialisation. The UK has a very strong research base and the largest number of cell and gene therapy companies in Europe. I am very pleased we could set up this programme, also with the support of the European Regional Development Fund and Innovate UK, to enable more early stage companies to advance towards industrialisation and benefit from the unique ecosystem that we have built in the UK.”

Keith Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, CGT Catapult

This programme is partly funded by the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the £3.5m grant which was awarded to the CGT Catapult. More Information can be found at https://ct.catapult.org.uk/adviceclinics

European Regional Development Fund

The project has received £3.5m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.