Elsevier

Drug Discovery Today

Volume 26, Issue 10, October 2021, Pages 2269-2281
Drug Discovery Today

Keynote (green)
The impact of COVID-19 on the cell and gene therapies industry: Disruptions, opportunities, and future prospects

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2021.04.020Get rights and content

Highlights

  • The financial figures for CGTs are still promising despite severe disruption.

  • COVID-19 repositioning strategies provide opportunities for manufacturers of CGTs.

  • CGTs industry needs to increase its resilience to navigate potential future crises.

  • More restrictions on CGTs price and reimbursement are foreseeable.

  • Value-based price and alternative payment mechanisms will be increasingly leveraged.

Abstract

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has caused significant disruption to the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry, which has historically faced substantial complexities in supply of materials, and manufacturing and logistics processes. As decision-makers shifted their priorities to COVID-19-related issues, the challenges in market authorisation, and price and reimbursement of CGTs were amplified. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that some CGT developers are adapting their efforts toward the development of promising COVID-19-related therapeutics and vaccines. Manufacturing resilience, digitalisation, telemedicine, value-based pricing, and innovative payment mechanisms will be increasingly harnessed to ensure that market access of CGTs is not severely disrupted.

Keywords

COVID-19
Cell and gene therapies
Regulatory
Health technology assessment

Cited by (0)

Tingting Qiu is a PhD student at Aix-Marseille University, France, majoring in public health. She has been involved in projects concerning expensive drugs (e.g., orphan drugs and advanced therapies) on the European market since 2017, such as health policy research, value proposition proposal, business model strategy, and expert interviews. She has a MSc in clinical pharmacy from China Pharmaceutical University, and has experience in clinical evidence synthesis and patient education.

Mondher Toumi has an MD and MSc in biostatistics and in biological sciences (option pharmacology) and a PhD in economic sciences. He is professor of public health at Aix-Marseille University, France. He is also the founder of Creativ-Ceutical, an international consulting firm dedicated to supporting health industries and authorities in strategic decision-making. He also created the European Market Access University Diploma (EMAUD). He is a recognised expert in health economics and an authority on drugs market access and risk management.

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