The Cell Therapy Catapult, which is focused on the development of the UK cell therapy industry to increase the nation’s health and wealth, welcomes today’s Regenerative Medicine report from the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. We were pleased to give evidence for this important review, and note its recognition of the important role of the Cell Therapy Catapult in the further development of regenerative medicine in this country.
The Science and Technology Committee recognises the potential of regenerative medicine for patient and economic benefit, plus the opportunity for the UK to be a leader in this area, while making extensive recommendations to make it possible to ‘translate scientific knowledge into clinical practice’. These recommendations are complementary to the Cell Therapy Catapult’s focus addressing business, technical, regulatory and clinical barriers to commercialisation of cell therapy in the UK.
We believe that the UK has a rich pipeline of cell therapies, either in clinical trials now or entering trials over the next few years, and this will drive a need for commercial-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK. In October this year, the Cell Therapy Catapult will complete a review of projected demand to help forecast the need for investment in larger scale facilities.
The Government will now take time to consider a detailed response to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s report, and the Cell Therapy Catapult will also work with key stakeholders and the UK cell therapy community to submit its response in this next phase.
–ENDS-
* Read the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Regenerative Medicine report and its press release.