Orgenesis, a global biotech company working with cell and gene therapies, and The Johns Hopkins University in the US, have collaborated to construct a cell and gene therapy processing facility for point of care treatment of patients at Johns Hopkins which is planned to start in the second quarter of 2022 and is expected to be operational in second quarter of 2023.
The centre
The Maryland Center for Cell Therapy Manufacturing provides Johns Hopkins clinicians and researchers with a more streamlined path to treat patients and take promising and novel treatments from the lab to patient trials. This path will enable local capacity for processing of clinical therapeutics at the point of care, rather than having to outsource clinical trial cell and gene therapy manufacturing to third parties.
In addition, the establishment of the new centre will enable rapid scale up of additional processing capacity through connecting/servicing Orgenesis Mobile Processing Units and Labs (OMPULs). OMPULs shorten the implementation time of new capacity from 18-24 months to three to six months. Each POCare Center can service multiple OMPULS. The first OMPUL in Maryland is expected to deploy in the second half of 2022.
Official comments
“I’d like to congratulate Orgenesis as they begin building the company’s new Maryland Center for Cell Therapy Manufacturing on the Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore. The state is pleased to support this project with a $5 million grant to assist with construction,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. “With the current demands on the healthcare industry, we are acutely aware of the need to continue to position Maryland in the forefront of biomedical advancements. This center will help develop innovative new therapies to improve the lives of patients for years to come.”
