CONCLUSION
At present, allogeneic stem-cell therapy appears to be the more commercially attractive option for companies to pursue, both
in terms of its manufacturing costs and logistics as well as in terms of its business potential because it will in essence
be available as an "off-the-shelf" product, meaning it could be used in both acute and chronic disease settings. Yet, for
certain medical conditions, autologous therapy is likely to prove the only feasible therapeutic option and still support an
acceptable pharmacoeconomic calculation.
In the coming years, greater regulatory guidance is likely to be published on the production of cell-based therapies, which
may more clearly define how allogeneic and autologous therapies should be manufactured, thereby allowing a clearer picture
to emerge about therapy production costs and logistics. The field of cell therapy manufacturing is also advancing swiftly,
meaning that improved large-scale, automated manufacturing technologies can be expected, which should positively affect the
cost and logistical difficulties underlying cell-based therapy production.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This paper is based on the author's thesis submitted for a Master's in Bioscience Enterprise degree at the Univ. of Cambridge.
The author thanks Dr. Catherine Prescott and Dr. Ruth McKernan for their supervision and support.
Dr. Nafees N. Malik, MB, ChB, MPhil (Camb), CSci, is an external lecturer at the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge, nafees_malik@hotmail.com
.
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