In a guest blog for Crain's Cleveland Business, Daria Fedyukina, PhD, calls the industry of cell and gene therapy manufacturing (CGTM) "small but mighty" and notes it is growing here in Ohio. "The CGTM industry produces biological materials for use as new-age pharmaceuticals. Specifically, CGTM makes different viruses and living cells that are injected into patients to treat diseases like cancer and genetic illnesses," writes Fedyukina as she urges the region's business leaders to capitalize on its economic potential.
Fedyukina also notes the National Center of Regenerative Medicine at Case Western Reserve University and its Regenerative Medicine and Entrepreneurship Master's program, in which pioneers of cell and gene therapy manufacturing train the workforce to propel the industry further. "We have the tools. We have the expertise. We have the potential. It is time to reclaim our place as a top manufacturing state."
Fedyukina is a translational officer in the Office of Translation and Innovation at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a gene and cell therapy consultant with BioHeights LLC. She completed this research as part of a course she was auditing in the Regenerative Medicine and Entrepreneurship Master's program.