regenerative medicine

The Centre for Cell and Vector Production: a look inside

CCRM, in partnership with University Health Network, has built a Good Manufacturing Practices-compliant facility to produce cells and viral vectors for Phase I and II clinical trials. Now welcoming clients, the Centre for Cell and Vector Production (CCVP) is a 20,000 sq. ft. space featuring ISO Class 7/Grade B cell and viral vector clean rooms – 10 in total. Watch our video for a view into this leading-edge facility and hear from Susan Marlin, of Clinical Trials Ontario, along with others, on why CCVP is so important for Toronto and Canada. Working with academics, cell therapy and gene therapy developers, CCRM is continuing to drive the industry closer to delivering on the promise of regenerative medicine as a possible cure for many devastating diseases and conditions.

The CCVP video, produced by Big Red Oak, has won the 2019 Videographer Award of Excellence (the highest level). The Videographer Awards “recognize works that are written, produced, shot and/or edited in an exceptional manner.” The awards are administered and judged by the international Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals as part of the dotCOMM Awards.

Introducing the Centre for Cell and Vector Production

The Centre for Cell and Vector Production (CCVP) is a leading-edge Good Manufacturing Practices-compliant facility built in partnership with University Health Network. CCVP is located at MaRS, in downtown Toronto, adjacent to some of Canada’s leading hospitals and research institutes. The 20,000 sq. ft. facility includes: 10 suites, two dedicated to viral vectors and eight for cell therapies. They are ISO Class 7/Grade B clean rooms for Phase I and II trials. CCVP is designed for FDA, Health Canada and EMA compliance.

Development of a Semi-Automated Closed CAR-T Manufacturing Process

Presented At: Cell Biology Virtual Event 2018

Presented By: Calley Hirsch, PhD – Development Engineer / Scientist II, CCRM

Speaker Biography: Calley Hirsch has been a Development Engineer / Scientist II at CCRM in Toronto for 8 months, where she specializes in upstream lentiviral production and gene delivery technologies. Prior to working at CCRM, Calley was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston working on pluripotent stem cells and somatic cell reprogramming. Calley received her PhD from the University of Saskatchewan.

Summer By Design: An International Workshop on Translating and Commercializing Regenerative Medicine

Learn more about this summer workshop for high-performing PhD candidates and post-doctoral fellows hosted by the University of Toronto’s Medicine by Design initiative, in partnership with CCRM and the Rotman School of Management.

Bringing Immunotherapies to Ontario

Using genetic engineering, immunotherapies mobilize the body’s own cells against cancer. This revolutionary therapy has demonstrated remarkable curative potential, but comes with a big price tag and many complex technical challenges. Health-care providers, governments and industry are working on solutions that will make this therapy widely available. With the first immunotherapies having won regulatory approval in the United States, we are slowly making progress. What does this mean for Canada? What are the key challenges we need to address to bring immunotherapy to patients here at home?

The discussion included:
– Michael May, PhD, President & CEO, CCRM (Moderator)
– Donna Wall, MD, Section Head – Blood and Marrow Transplant/Cell Therapy Program, Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children
– Justin Shakespeare, Executive Director, Oncology Business Unit, Amgen
– Patrick Bedford, Senior Manager, Clinical Translation and Regulatory Affairs, CCRM
– Aaron Dulgar-Tulloch, PhD, Director of BridGE, GE Healthcare Cell Therapy

This event took place during Toronto Health Innovation Week 2018, on April 11, 2018.

Fulfilling the Promise of Much-Needed Cures

Regenerative medicine could revolutionize healthcare by providing actual cures to so many diseases where we are currently only treating symptoms. But the field is so new that there are exceptional hurdles to getting great ideas from the bench to the clinic.

Michael May is the president and CEO of CCRM, and he is bringing together the players who are needed to translate stem cell discoveries into commercial products.

This video was created by Research2Reality (R2R), which is a groundbreaking initiative that shines a spotlight on world-class scientists engaged in innovative and leading edge research in Canada. R2R’s video series celebrates the success of researchers who are establishing the new frontiers of science and to share the impact of their discoveries with the public.

TOHealth! interviews Michael May, CCRM’s President & CEO

Canada eyes leading role in regenerative medicine

Getting a promising new product to market can be a challenge, and this is especially true in medicine. From the earliest stages of development through to clinical trials, proving that new therapeutics work can take a lot of time and investment. CCRM bridges the gap between the lab and the clinic, helping accelerate stem cell therapies to the market.