Blog | May 18, 2023

ARW's CGT+RNA Manufacturing Must-Reads (Greeting Card Edition!)

Source: Cell & Gene Collaborative
ARW Edit Headshot 2

By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA

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Day-in and day-out, I write, read, listen to, and watch as much content as I can about CGT and RNA therapy manufacturing, in particular, and/or other ATMP industry-related topics that you should at least be aware of in the manufacturing facility. Every two weeks, I compile the articles and industry updates I think are most worthy of your time into an unconventional newsletter format (below) and send them out via email.

May 17 was “send an electronic greeting card day.” So, below, you’ll find that each section of manufacturing must-reads is prefaced by a greeting card-esque saying that the CGT industry would send — if the industry were a snarky person that actually could send a greeting card.

You’re welcome. For literally everything.
[mRNA REGULATORY]

My sympathies for making your day job so difficult.
[CELL THERAPY MANUFACTURING]

  • The industry isn’t the only one that owes us this card — we should also be getting one from the cells we work with. I’m sure it’ll be here any day now...
  • This LinkedIn post shares an article on risk factors for CAR-T manufacturing failure (particularly in DLBCL patients). Regardless of the indication in which you’re working, this study is worth a look. In particular, the authors determined the rates at which treatments (particularly bendamustine) administered prior to apheresis increased the risks of manufacturing failures.

Thinking of you during this difficult time. You’ve really earned this picture of David’s abs.
[FUTURE OF mRNA]

  • David’s just a sculpture — calm down.
  • Though you may think I’ve finally fallen of the deep end here, I thought there was a clever metaphor to be made about the history of Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of David and mRNA as a past, present, and future modality. Check out Episode 4 of ARW on RNA: Michelangelo Meets mRNA to figure out how I see the mRNA space chiseling out its own impressive “six-pack” a.k.a. line-up of therapeutic products in the future.

Thanks for being my friend (and not a jerk).
[INDUSTRY COLLABORATION]

  • I dare say if we boil down the legal jargon behind every industry partnership, this is what each partner is really saying to each other.
  • Luckily for the mRNA space, there’s a new “club” in the works in which companies can come together and advocate for mRNA-specific scientific, regulatory, and policy-related advancements. As this LinkedIn post shares, the groundwork is being laid for the Alliance for mRNA Medicines — the future mandate for which will be discussed at the upcoming BIO convention.
  • To stay in the loop on AMM’s future goals/purview/and projects, apply to join its newly launched LinkedIn group.

Thank you for your question(s). Please refer to the guidance for the answer(s) you seek.
[FDA TOWN HALLS/AD COMS]

  • Your latest regulatory communication may (seemingly) be winging its way to you via carrier pigeon as opposed to email, but we really do have to applaud the FDA for the sheer amount of work it has been doing for the space in the past few weeks.
  • You may have caught word that the agency just hosted a highly anticipated gene therapy adcom for Sarepta’s AAV gene therapy in DMD. I fully intend to write something about the discussions that led to this nail-bitingly close 8-6 vote recommending accelerated approval in the upcoming weeks. But for the truly impatient among us, you can watch/rewatch all your favorite moments of the 8-hour event here.
  • If you’re saying, “been there, watched all that,” then can I interest you instead in the April 25th Gene Therapy CMC Town Hall? The recording and transcript are available here for you to watch (or re-watch if you’re an overachiever).
  • For all my “cellebrities” on the cell therapy side, the FDA just announced a cell therapy CMC-dedicated town hall forthcoming on Thursday, June 8th. You can register here.

AI probably won’t kill us, but just in case, I wanted to send you this note letting you know I’ll never forget you.
[AI/ML]

Congratulations on the birth of your new manufacturing technology!
[INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING APPROACHES]

What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the words I have read in my life.
[INDUSTRY COMMUNICATION]