May 6, 2022 -- The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) has come a long way since it was founded 30 years ago by a small group of stem cell innovators, evolving into a multifaceted organization involved in all types of cell and gene therapies, according to ISCT President Bruce Levine, PhD, professor of cancer gene therapy at the University of Pennsylvania.
This week in San Francisco, industry, investors, physicians, patients, and regulators convened at ISCT's annual meeting -- the first to be held in person since 2019 -- with the theme "Bench to Bedside to Benefit" designed to follow the translational pathway with all of the cell types and disease areas represented. Levine told ScienceBoard.net that ISCT is built on three pillars: scientific committees, regulatory and quality operations, and commercialization.
While the field of cell and gene therapy (CGT) is still in relatively early stages compared to other modalities, Levine said he's encouraged with progress over the last few years with regulatory approvals and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. At the same time, Levine emphasized the need for CGT workforce education and training given a "talent shortage" due to the rapid growth of the industry.
"There just aren't enough people with expertise in cell and gene therapy to fill all of the roles. This starts at the bench, at the entry-level jobs, and it goes all the way up to the C-suite. And that's really where we can play a huge part at ISCT in our educational programs and bringing more people into the field," Levine said.
Watch the video below to learn more.
Copyright © 2022 scienceboard.net