The University of Sheffield and Pfizer have today (23 November 2020) launched a new consortium which aims to standardize and accelerate the development of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), allowing potentially transformative treatments to reach patients sooner.
The new, five-year consortium, Accelerating Research and Innovation for Advanced Therapies (ARDAT), is supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and brings together the leading expertise of 34 academic, nonprofit and private organizations from across Europe and the US.
Led by ARDAT Coordinator, Professor Mimoun Azzouz from the University of Sheffield, and ARDAT Project Lead, Dr Gregory LaRosa from Pfizer, the new consortium will pioneer a €25.5 million project to accelerate the development of ATMPs which includes gene and cell therapies.
The field of ATMP research is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, with potentially up to 10-20 new drug applications submitted per year to the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) by 2025.
The ARDAT consortium will aim to bring together researchers from public and private organisations to help fill the knowledge gaps in how these therapies could potentially work, and to develop appropriate standards to aid researchers, developers and regulators in accelerating effective and safe gene and cell therapies to benefit patients.
Source: News Medical Life Science