High manufacturing costs limit access to cell and gene therapies and make it harder to bring new products to market, according to VIVEbiotech CEO, Jon Alberdi, who says cheaper production processes would be good for patients and industry.
“Cell and gene therapies have high development and manufacturing costs. It is the responsibility of all players in the chain to contribute to a cost reduction so these therapies can be accessible to patients,” he said. “Efficient processes are essential for scaling up production to meet growing demand. Additionally, greater production efficiency would help accelerate the path to commercial launch, benefiting developers.”
The comments come a few weeks after VIVEbiotech said it will use an investment from Ampersand Capital Partners to increase capacity at its manufacturing facility in San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, Spain. Enhancing efficiency will be a major focus, emphasizes Alberdi, who adds, “This is a growth investment. It will allow VIVEbiotech to enlarge its production capacity to respond to its clients’ current and future needs. Additionally, and importantly, Ampersand’s expertise in the field will help to accelerate VIVEbiotech’s move toward optimal and efficient GMP processes.”
Assessing digital bioprocessing systems
The CDMO has already started assessing a range of digital bioprocessing systems in consultation with customers.
“In this search for the newest technology, we are analyzing and testing different solutions to make our processes more efficient,” notes Alberdi. “We are looking for efficiency that we transfer to our clients, who are the ultimate beneficiaries, together with the patients.”
VIVEbiotech is also collaborating with suppliers to make its operations as efficient as possible.
“We are improving our supply chain system by collaborating closely with suppliers and clients. We are also looking at opportunities to improve in collaboration with companies in Ampersand’s extended network,” continues Alberdi, “We will welcome any potential synergy that leverages our supply chain.”
Alberdi cites growing demand for lentiviral vectors from the cell and gene sector—primarily from developers of chimeric antigen receptor therapies (CAR-T)—as another motivation for the expansion.
“Lentivirus vectors have proven to be efficient ensuring long-term expression of the therapeutic gene and safety, and their use is common. The increasing success and demand for CAR-T cell therapies, which mainly use lentiviral vectors for genetic modification of T cells, is driving the growth of lentivirus production,” he explains. “The use of LVV for autoimmune diseases opens a promising opportunity for these vectors.
