Blood Centers Positioned to Scale Cell and Gene Therapies for Biopharma
The Blood and Cells Advocacy Roster (BCAR), an industry group, is advocating for biopharmaceutical companies to leverage existing blood center infrastructure to scale cell and gene therapies (CGTs). As CGTs transition from treating small cohorts at academic centers to larger patient populations, a significant bottleneck has emerged in the initial cell collection and delivery process. Historically, this 'first mile' of CGT manufacturing has been handled by clinical research teams at academic medical centers, a model that is proving unscalable, inefficient, and geographically limited for broader commercial use. Blood centers, with their established infrastructure, regulatory compliance, quality systems, and community footprint, are presented as a ready-made solution. They possess experience in leukapheresis, donor recruitment, screening, logistics, and managing cellular starting material for both autologous (patient's own cells) and allogeneic (donor cells) therapies, all under rigorous quality regimes align...