To help address the challenges surrounding supply chain management for cell and gene therapy around the globe, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced a collaboration with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) to provide developers with both the manufacturing capability and distribution, logistics and storage capacity needed to create a seamless supply chain to accelerate cell and gene therapy development and commercialization.

As part of the collaboration, Fisher BioServices will expand its CryoHub solution by co-locating it with Catapult’s new large-scale cell and gene therapy manufacturing center based in Stevenage, U.K., due for completion in summer 2017. Combining the two offers centralized manufacturing, storage, distribution and logisitics, resulting in a seamless supply chain.

“The U.K. is becoming a cluster for cell and gene therapy commercialization and the CGT Catapult is at the forefront of this evolution,” said David Meadows, vice president and general manager, Fisher BioServices. “The co-location of our CryoHub with the CGT Catapult will support collaborators within the manufacturing center and the broader U.K. community. Combined with our existing capabilities in Asia and the U.S., it enables us to more easily support our customers’ global trials as they develop and commercialize their therapies.”

The CryoHub is a complete cryogenic storage, distribution and logistics solution consisting of configurable, modular components. Each module can be outfitted to meet the specific needs of a clinical trial, regardless of volume or geographic location. The CryoHub solution can accommodate early phase trials where only a few shipments are received, stored, and eventually distributed, as well as large-scale operations where many shipments are received and processed daily. This flexibility, combined with the close proximity to the CGT Catapult’s manufacturing center, enables advanced therapy developers to conduct clinical trials across multiple geographies and provide patients around the world with access to life changing therapies.

"The U.K. has a thriving life sciences sector. Government has made a commitment to advanced therapies through the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, and the highly anticipated manufacturing center opening later this year. When I visited Thermo Fisher Scientific in San Diego, I experienced firsthand the global impact of the company on life sciences enterprise. This new investment in a CryoHub will be a strong complement to the role of the CGT Catapult, enhancing the attraction for U.K. and international companies to develop, manufacture, and export their cell and gene therapy products from the U.K.,” said Greg Hands MP, Minister of State for Trade and Investment.

“Delivering successful industry-led trials in this innovative area of research is dependent on creating a robust and reliable supply chain of their most vital ingredients, the cells themselves,” said Keith Thompson, chief executive officer of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult. “This collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific is supporting our goal to build a world-class cell and gene therapy manufacturing cluster in the U.K. that will underpin clinical studies and ultimately early commercial supply. It reflects our mission to build the U.K.’s position as a world leader in the development and commercialization of cell and gene therapies, and creating a center which transforms frontier-pushing science into medicines for patients.”