News / NHS
‘Revolutionary’ gene and cell therapy facility opens in Bristol
A new state-of-the-art facility to develop and manufacture revolutionary cell and gene therapies has opened in Bristol.
The Clinical Biotechnology Centre (CBC) will manufacture products such as DNA plasmids and viral vectors used in the creation of gene therapies and genetically modified cell therapies.
The site will be the biggest blood manufacturing facility in Europe, allowing the NHS to offer patients quick access to the latest treatments and also bring new treatments into the NHS faster.
is needed now More than ever
CBC will manufacture products such as DNA plasmids and viral vectors used in the creation of gene therapies and genetically modified cell therapies.
The Clinical Biotechnology Centre in Filton will be the biggest blood manufacturing site in Europe – photo: Mia Vines Booth
The new facility will mean that it will be quicker, and less expensive to develop potentially curative therapies for currently incurable diseases, such as some forms of cancer, sickle cell disease, and cystic fibrosis.
Gene and cell therapy can also be used to treat illnesses such as leukaemia, haemophilia, autoimmune disorders, cancer, HIV, melanoma, and cystic fibrosis.
CAR-T is one kind of cell therapy. Nitya Raghava, 22 from Gloucester, received CAR-T cell therapy in 2019 for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
After being diagnosed in 2016, Nitya was initially treated with chemotherapy therapy and a stem cell transplant but after a relapse CAR-T was “pretty much a last resort.”
Nitya was the first person to receive CAR-T therapy, and has now lived free of the disease for four years.
Reflecting on the treatment, Nitya said: “CAR-T was absolutely lifesaving for me. Without it, I don’t think I would be here.
Nitya has now lived free of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia for four years – photo: NHSBT
“I now feel great, I’m at university and I am living my life as normal. four years on from receiving CAR-T cells, because I’m in complete molecular remission with no evidence of disease now.
“I feel lucky that I got it when I did, and I hope more people also now get the chance to have new treatments.”
The CBC has been opened as part of the NHS Blood and Transport Centre in Filton, and will replace a smaller, ageing unit in nearby Langford.
Dr Lilian Hook, NHSBT’s director of cell, apheresis and gene therapies said: “The CBC is basically a factory – it manufactures the building blocks (or components) needed to produce gene therapies. Researchers and developers can ask us to manufacture the specific components they require.
“This will enable cutting edge research with the potential to develop cures for some critical diseases which can currently only be treated and often ultimately prove fatal.
Steve Bates, chief executive officer of the UK BioIndustry Association, said: “NHS Blood and Transplant is something of a hidden secret in the UK ecosystem in terms of its capability to manufacture cell and gene therapies.
“This fantastic new centre will enable their capable team to better partner with companies in this key growth area of our life science economy.”
Main photo: Mia Vines Booth
Read next:
- Bionic arms being rolled out on NHS for first time
- Bristol MP calls on government to address staff shortages across NHS and social care
- Thousands of Bristol patients are waiting more than a year for treatment
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