We have previously reported on the UK losing ground globally in conducting clinical trials, which are needed to test new medicines on patients.

The Guardian, Business Live

Julia Kollewe

1 Nov 2023, 08:34 EDT

There is some good news today: London-based ViroCell Biologics is now able to manufacture and export globally viral vectors from a Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) facility, the Zayed Centre for Research, for use in clinical trials. The centre has just been granted a licence to manufacture viral vectors.

Viral vectors are tools designed to deliver genetic material into cells. There has been a shortage of certain viral vectors in the cell and gene therapy market where they are used to genetically modify human cells to create new treatments.

ViroCell said it should be able to relieve the strain on clinical research caused by the vector shortage.

Claire Booth, Mahboubian Professor in gene therapy and paediatric immunology at GOSH, and clinical academic lead for the cell & gene therapy service at GOSH, said:

“With our state-of-the-art facility and ViroCell’s international network of collaborators, vectors for both UK and global projects can be manufactured at the Zayed Centre for Research, unclogging the industry-wide bottleneck, accelerating cell and gene therapy clinical trials and expanding the novel treatments that we can offer to our patients.”