CGT Catapult Edinburgh will help to act as a backbone of translational expertise of the UK, to provide practical advice to enable technology development, GMP translation and clinical trial acceleration to drive company formation and spin-out for the sector in Scotland and the North of England.

The Centre will be led by Dr Jacqueline Barry (Chief Clinical Officer at CGT Catapult) and will work with the strong academic and Pharma-services community in central Scotland to drive advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP) cluster formation and further build the UK’s prominence in ATMP development and supply.

The UK has become the “go-to” place for cell and gene therapy development in Europe and boasts a complete cell and gene therapy ecosystem. Today’s announcement reinforces this position by drawing on the specific strengths of Edinburgh and the surrounding region.

Matthew Durdy, CEO of CGT Catapult, said: “ We are excited to be expanding the CGT Catapult’s presence in Scotland through today’s agreement with the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh has developed an excellent academic base and the Institute for Regeneration and Repair is projected to have the largest accumulation of stem cell scientists in Europe (~500). We look forward to building on this local expertise and growing existing infrastructure to create a cluster for the cell and gene therapy industry in Scotland and the North of England which will help bring these life changing therapies to patients and will create economic opportunity in region”.

Professor Stuart Forbes, Director, Institute for Regeneration and Repair commented: “ This is excellent news for the University of Edinburgh. We have made considerable progress towards translation of cell and gene therapies into the clinic and the expansion of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult provides a great opportunity to boost these endeavours.”

Anna Stamp, Interim Programme Director, Edinburgh BioQuarter, said: “ We look forward to welcoming the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult as members of the Edinburgh BioQuarter community. It is another feather in the cap for our expanding expertise in advanced therapies, one of the key health innovation pillars of our growing ecosystem. BioQuarter, as a leading innovation location, is the perfect place for CGT Catapult Edinburgh to work with researchers and health innovation businesses to translate, test and nurture new ideas at scale, at pace and on time.”

About Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult was established as an independent centre of excellence to advance the growth of the UK cell and gene therapy industry, by bridging the gap between scientific research and full-scale commercialisation. With more than 350 employees focusing on cell and gene therapy technologies, it works with partners in academia and industry to ensure these life-changing therapies can be developed for use in health services throughout the world. It offers leading-edge capability, technology and innovation to enable companies to take products into clinical trials and provide clinical, process development, manufacturing, regulatory, health economics and market access expertise. Its aim is to make the UK the most compelling and logical choice for UK and international partners to develop and commercialise these advanced therapies. The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult works with Innovate UK.