In a four-part series, bluebird bio is exploring how the NHS can embrace the power of gene therapy as a treatment for rare diseases in the UK, including some of the systemic changes that will be needed. In this second column, Jonathan Appleby, the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult’s chief scientific officer, explores why the UK’s leading position on genomics has to go hand in hand with gene therapy leadership.
This is paid-for content from our commercial partners. Find out more
So-called “scientific breakthroughs” are often in the headlines, but in reality, ground-breaking medical innovations adhere to a slow process characterised by cautious clinical experimentation and gradual but continuous improvement before reaching patients. After years of effort, gene therapy looks set to become a routine medical approach to address serious unmet medical need.
Sponsored by
There are two types of gene therapy approved for commercial use today. The first, “in vivo”, uses a modified virus, administered directly into the body to correct the target cell’s original genetic defect. The second, “ex vivo”, takes the patient’s own cells away from their body for genetic modification with a virus and then puts them back into the patient. Ex vivo gene therapy is dominated by two cell types; CD34+ haematopoietic stem cells (bone marrow stem cells) that can be modified to correct certain genetic disorders, and cytotoxic T-cells that can be altered and trained to kill cancerous cells.
The cell and gene therapy industry in the UK is supported by the formation and growth of many companies with promising assets in clinical development. This thriving biotech community is also supported by a robust and prosperous contingent of specialist manufacturing companies. These companies were key to the recent national covid-19 vaccine manufacturing response because the process for making genetically modified adenovirus such as the SARs-COV-02 vaccine, (as developed at the Oxford University Jenner Institute), is very similar to the process for making viruses for gene therapy.
UK leadership in gene therapy is no accident. As specified in our National Industrial Strategy, the UK’s many research councils, in particular the Medicines Research Council, are active in funding the development and translation of treatments. In the UK right now, there are approximately 127 clinical trials testing new cell and gene therapy medicines, which represents 12 per cent of the global total. The government is readying the NHS to support these trials and transition these treatments into more common use through funding of the Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres (ATTC), a multiyear multi-million-pound project coordinated by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and comprising centres of excellence throughout the UK.
In the UK right now, there are approximately 127 clinical trials testing new cell and gene therapy medicines, which represents 12 per cent of the global total. The government is readying the NHS to support these trials
The ATTCs aim to develop and harmonise adoption of the “one and done” treatment paradigm by developing the appropriate frameworks and systems to support clinical adoption of these novel therapies. The ATTCs and the NHS are also working in partnership to develop novel medicines assessment and reimbursement paradigms which fairly recognise the ultra-long-term medical benefits that can accrue from a one-time gene therapy treatment. Increased adoption of gene therapy, which is proving to be an approach that can reduce the long-term healthcare burden of chronic disease management, has the potential to significantly lighten the NHS resources required for support of several chronic conditions.
As a future example of the UK commitment to gene therapies, we are also leading the practical application of genetic sequencing (genomics). Formation of the National Genomic Test Directory and support for the 100,000 genomes project by Genomics England are critical steps to improve the diagnosis of patients and identification of a new wave of one-off treatments that could be capable of delivering long-term clinical benefit.
Cell and gene therapies are a revolution in medicine and have even been described as the future of the healthcare system. When you consider that 80 per cent of rare diseases have a genetic component, these treatments could transform the prospects of thousands of people living with these conditions, creating a more economically sustainable and brighter future for them and their families.
