The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership have announced a cell and gene therapy integration laboratory at the CGT Catapult facility in Stevenage will be part-funded by £3m from the government’s Getting Building fund.
The laboratory will be dedicated to the provision of cell and gene therapy manufacturing training using digital and established teaching platforms. Learners will be trained using equipment capable of large-scale manufacture to meet the need for skilled workers to help accelerate the scale-up of growing cell and gene therapy companies locally.
The laboratory supports the national drive for skills development within the cell and gene therapy industry, and complements existing skills initiatives coordinated by CGT Catapult, including the Advanced Therapies Skills Training Network (ATSTN) and the Advanced Therapies Apprenticeship Community (ATAC).
Hertfordshire LEP has awarded £3,055,880 towards the cell and gene therapy integration laboratory. The funding will allow CGT Catapult to equip the laboratory with digital technologies including augmented reality, manufacturing platforms and analytics for the industrial manufacture of cell and gene therapies.
Paul Witcombe, Head of Enterprise and Innovation, Hertfordshire LEP, said: “We are delighted to have secured further investment to support future advances in cell and gene therapies. Skills digitalisation is a key differentiator and is absolutely critical if the UK is to remain a global centre of excellence in this sector.”
Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, Luke Hall MP said: “The Getting Building Fund is helping shovel ready projects to create jobs and encourage economic recovery across the country. An investment of over £3 million will support a dedicated cell and gene therapy training centre to be established in Stevenage, bringing valuable opportunities to the community.
“The state-of-the-art facilities will help local people gain the skills they need to enter this important sector, as well as supporting the creation of high-quality jobs.”