A graduate of Iona College in New York, Richard DiVenuto worked as a wealth director with Morgan Stanley until 2012. Today, he is an entrepreneurial advisor, with a focus on the biotech industry and its work in creating new cancer therapies. Among these new therapies, Richard DiVenuto is particularly interested in the emerging concept of “off the shelf” allogenic CAR T cell use.
Research into CAR T cells represented a breakthrough in the cancer immunology field. This resulted in the use of autologous CAR T cell therapies becoming more widespread. However, this type of CAR T cell therapy comes with several drawbacks.
While the costs involved in developing the therapy, which must be bespoke to the patient, are a key challenge, the most pressing issue may be the manufacturing process. Currently, it takes approximately three weeks to manufacture autologous CAR T cells. This delay may cause issues, as some patients may see their condition progress further during this time or become ineligible for the treatment due to other reasons.
“Off the shelf” allogenic CAR T cells may offer remedies to these issues due to their scaled-up manufacturing process leading to lower costs and reduced production times.
Research into CAR T cells represented a breakthrough in the cancer immunology field. This resulted in the use of autologous CAR T cell therapies becoming more widespread. However, this type of CAR T cell therapy comes with several drawbacks.
While the costs involved in developing the therapy, which must be bespoke to the patient, are a key challenge, the most pressing issue may be the manufacturing process. Currently, it takes approximately three weeks to manufacture autologous CAR T cells. This delay may cause issues, as some patients may see their condition progress further during this time or become ineligible for the treatment due to other reasons.
“Off the shelf” allogenic CAR T cells may offer remedies to these issues due to their scaled-up manufacturing process leading to lower costs and reduced production times.
