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“Procell for Patient”: Research Contribution For The Baden-Württemberg Health Forum
A team of experts from Stuttgart's Robert Bosch Hospital (RBK), Heidelberg University Hospital and packaging specialist Optima Pharma are working on the future of precision medicine.
The complex production of highly effective CAR-T cells is to be automated in the future.
The future of precision medicine: Advancing the automation of cell therapy for the optimal treatment of cancer patients - this is what the "ProCell for Patient" project is working on in-depth. A team of experts from Stuttgart's Robert Bosch Hospital (RBK), Heidelberg University Hospital and packaging specialist Optima Pharma is pioneering the development of a decentralized, automated production facility for CAR-T cell therapy. Cost and time intensive manual processes will be replaced by automated processes. "Automation of CAR-T cell therapy production is long overdue. Not only for cost and quality reasons. It will facilitate the innovation process in the future," says Prof. Walter E. Aulitzky, Chief Physician of the Department of Oncology, Hematology and Palliative Medicine at the RBK, with conviction. The number of hours currently spent by qualified personnel on the CAR-T cells manufacturing will be reduced by at least 50 percent with the help of the facility. Prof. Aulitzky adds: "With a view to the Stuttgart region, we want to work with our partners in this project to make CAR-T cell production possible for patients here on site.“
By funding the project under the umbrella of the Forum Gesundheitsstandort Baden-Württemberg, the government of Baden-Württemberg is setting standards in personalized medicine. After two years of development, construction work will soon begin at the Robert Bosch Hospital. The first test runs with human cell material are scheduled to run in 2023.