Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult highlights sector growth in Annual Review
London, UK – The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) today published its Annual Review 2015/16 which included statistics on UK industry growth. The Review is being launched at the inaugural UK Regenerative Medicine Conference in London hosted jointly by the CGT Catapult and the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform.
The figures show that, in the UK:
- Investment in 2015 was over £400m at year end compared to £35m in 2012.
- There were 42 cell and gene therapy developers in the UK and half of those were considered to be rapidly growing their R&D activities. This represents growth of 90 percent in the number of developers since 2012.
- Employment in the sector more than doubled from 540 in 2012 to over 1000 at the end of 2015 and growing.
- The number of cell and gene therapy clinical trials in the UK grew 50% from 2013
- The size of the highly specialised Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standard manufacturing footprint for cell and gene therapies grew 50% from 2013.
The figures collated by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult demonstrate that the UK is continuing to grow a cell and gene therapy sector. It’s encouraging to see all the numbers moving in the right direction. But there’s still a lot more for the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and the industry to do to maintain that growth. We need to continue shaping the environment in the UK so that it’s as favourable as possible for companies to base themselves here as a gateway to Europe. We also need to ensure that academic research in the field that’s done here in the UK can translate into commercial success in the UK.
Keith Thompson, CEO of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
The review also highlights the growth of the CGT Catapult, key case studies and future milestones including:
- Progress of a novel immuno-oncology therapy through clinical trials in a specially created company with UCLB and Imperial Innovations. Safety milestones have been successfully achieved in the trial and it’s helped define approaches to meeting regulatory requirements and reduce the future cost of goods.
- Application of the CGT Catapult’s cell plasticity technology platform in a project with a USA company who are conducting clinical trials in the UK.
- A UK devices company commercialising a novel technology to thaw frozen cells in hospitals resulting from a project with the CGT Catapult.
- Construction of the CGT Catapult’s GMP large scale manufacturing centre in Stevenage continues on schedule.
The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult has been established for nearly four years now as part of Innovate UK’s Catapult programme. This review shows that we are starting to see real outcomes from the projects we are working on. We look forwards to working on new projects and platforms and engaging with UK stakeholders to continue in our mission to create a leading UK industry for cell and gene therapies.
Thompson
