Advanced therapies like CAR-T have been in the news for their potential to fundamentally change and personalize cancer treatment. Manufacturing these therapies is hard. Overcoming key bottlenecks is essential to commercial viability. The cost and variability associated with these personalized advanced therapies presents a critical manufacturing and translational challenge. The current clinical pipeline in this field shows the imminent need for manufacturing optimization. However, current manufacturing protocols are limited in terms of their scalability and cost-effectiveness. Get access now to learn about:
- Consistent and scalable expansion of CAR-T cells in stirred-tank bioreactors
- Reducing variability
- Establishing a control strategy for CAR-T process intensification
Presenter:
Qasim Rafiq, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, University College London
Dr. Qasim Rafiq joined University College London in 2017 as an Associate Professor in Cell and Gene Therapy Bioprocess Engineering in the Department of Biochemical Engineering. He is a multidisciplinary engineer working at the life science, engineering, and commercial interfaces with a research focus on bioprocessing, automation, and biomanufacturing of cell and gene therapies. He currently leads a research portfolio of > £5M as Principal Investigator and leads a dynamic interdisciplinary research group that collaborates internationally with high-caliber academic institutions, industry partners, and leading clinicians. He is also Programme Director of the new Manufacture and Commercialisation of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies M.Sc. program.
Qasim gained his Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing from Loughborough University, UK, whilst collaborating with Lonza. Qasim is both a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Chartered Scientist (CSci) and sits on multiple scientific and engineering committees including the IChemE Biochemical Engineering Subject Interest Group, British Standards Institute Biotechnology Committee, and the BIA’s Cell and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee.