To make cell therapies more widely available, the manufacturing costs must be reduced. When asked what makes cell therapies so costly to produce, Esmond Lee—a doctoral student at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine—points to a multi-center study in Europe.
The study found that the cost of raw materials makes up 26–82% of the total cost of goods of producing advanced therapy medicinal products under hospital exemption, compassionate use programs, or in clinical trials.
“Hence, lowering the cost of raw materials required to produce a cell therapy will make a significant impact on the total cost of goods for cell and gene therapy,” Lee says.
