Patients are waiting:
When collaboration
eclipses competition
Standardizing processes and supply chain management for innovative cell and gene therapies
INDIVIDUALLY,
THEY IDENTIFIED
INDUSTRY CHALLENGES.
TOGETHER,
COULD THEY SOLVE THEM?
The Situation
Cell and gene therapies are administered through a highly complex process, with multiple touchpoints and steps that stakeholders—including patients, manufacturers, and clinicians—must navigate with careful coordination and quality control. The efficacy and safety of these therapies hinge upon that close attention to detail. As a result, the patient treatment journey can be painstaking. Could it be made easier to get these potentially life-saving treatments to patients who need them?
The question was being asked across the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry as biotech companies engineered breakthroughs for patients. There weren’t easy answers, and with the sector still maturing, there weren’t standardized processes. Deloitte worked with a growing number of CGT innovators, helping them navigate individual challenges. But many clients also shared industry concerns, and they craved a forum for tackling these complex problems collectively with peers.
This was the impetus behind Deloitte’s NextGen Therapies (NGT) practice forming the Industry Working Group (IWG), which enables members to exchange perspectives and drive actionable discussion on critical topics that accelerate the development, commercialization, and access to transformational therapies. Its mission is to foster collaboration among advanced therapy leaders, enabling them to share cutting-edge practices, harmonize industry-wide standards, and cocreate transformative solutions that ultimately enhance the lives of patients, providers, and other relevant stakeholders.
A particularly vexing issue existed related to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies, a type of treatment used for certain types of cancer. The end-to-end process—from scheduling patient treatments and managing the supply chain before delivery to exchanging relevant data and insights at other points in the treatment journey—was extremely time-consuming for manufacturers, clinicians, and treatment centers. But IWG members believed treatments could be administered to patients faster and more safely, and they were ready to roll up their sleeves and identify a solution together.
THE SOLVE
A SHARED, PATIENT-CENTRIC APPROACH TO COMPLEX INDUSTRY PROBLEMS
The Impact
The working group identified opportunities to standardize processes and unlock efficiencies for stakeholders across the cell and gene therapies industry:
- Cell therapy developers save time needed for training treatment center staff, as well as related costs, through a common portal that’s familiar and easier to use.
- With fewer redundancies, clinicians can spend less time managing the requirements of individual manufacturers and redirect that time to the patients these treatments are intended to help.
Beyond saving time, by collectively driving a universal solution, cell and gene therapy innovators may have unlocked cost savings for their respective organizations by eliminating the need to build bespoke systems and portals.
The NextGen Therapies Industry Working Group, which began as a group of 12 cell and gene therapy innovators, has grown to 90 member organizations. There was no formal recruitment—this was organic growth through industry word of mouth. Members now include manufacturers, cell and gene therapy developers, researchers, regulators, investors, and clinicians who meet quarterly to engage, ideate, and discuss relevant industry topics that can directly impact clinical services for CGT patients. Additionally, six cross-functional workstreams meet regularly to tackle key industry challenges and provide quarterly updates to the broader IWG.
Members have expanded their individual networks through the IWG, but more importantly, their participation continues to further collective understanding—and that doesn’t just benefit members, it benefits patients.
LET'S CONNECT.
Do these challenges sound familiar?