Public Funding for World Courier Logistics (UK) Limited

"ATMPs, which can be _cell or gene therapies_, show great potential in treating patients with conditions that cannot be cured with current treatments. These include arthritis, liver disease, several types of cancer, and diabetic ulcers. ATMPs are just beginning to be available, with the UK playing a leading role. However, even when new ATMP therapies are developed and shown to be effective, there are **major challenges in rolling them out to patients**. The reasons for this include: complexities in transporting a 'living' product, and lack of familiarity with such products in most NHS hospitals. The project lead is the Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, a national centre of excellence. The Welsh government has also made a major investment in cell therapy and is supportive of NHS Wales as the joint-lead on this project. We are a **team of industrialists, clinicians, academics and computer system experts** who have all the necessary skills to succeed in this project. Our group **covers the Midlands and Wales** giving us access to major teaching hospitals and almost 15 million people providing a unique opportunity to set cell therapy up to succeed. We will: -Set up a network of hospitals with medical staff trained to receive and administer ATMPs. -Build seamless supply chains that ensure that 'living medicines' remain healthy and effective as they are moved from the production laboratory to the bedside. -Put in place the IT systems to manage the end-to-end process. -Validate this new infrastructure using real ATMPs -Deliver a programme that uses this infrastructure to speed up the testing of ATMPs in clinical trials. -Set-up protocols to test whether the **cost of a new ATMP is justified by its clinical effectiveness.** The benefits of MW-ATTC are (a) Patients with challenging illnesses will get access to breakthrough medicines; (b) ATMP companies will get access to the clinical mainstream and market; (c) Investment in this important industry sector will increase, as we demonstrate that the UK is an excellent location for ATMP R&D. MW-ATTC will be one of three Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres in the UK, working together for patients and ATMP innovators, to reinforce the UK's position as a world leader in this important field."

"The Northern Alliance Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre (NAATTC) is a group of NHS hospitals and services. NAATTC has a wide geographical reach across Scotland and the North of England and is responsible for the health care of 15 million NHS patients. Advanced therapies are becoming increasingly available with a growing number of companies developing them both in the UK and worldwide. They are based on the administration of gene- and cell-based products in specialities such as haematology, autoimmunity, hepatology, cardiology and ophthalmology. They are thought to be more effective than existing treatments and provide treatments for diseases where currently no effective therapy exists. However most are still in clinical trials. Advanced therapies present significant challenges to healthcare providers compared with existing treatments. Addressing these challenges in the NHS will require development and dissemination of new skills for nurses, doctors, hospital pharmacists, NHS managers, and commissioners such as NHS England and the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). It will also require changes in the way treatment is delivered. The changes required in the NHS can only be properly implemented through partnership with the companies that are developing and providing advanced therapies to the NHS. Manufacturers will need assistance with clinical trials to ensure optimal trial design, effective recruitment into clinical trials, and long term follow up of outcomes. The manufacturing and distributing processes are complex and it is critical that these systems are integrated effectively with those within the NHS. The NAATTC already has considerable experience of delivering advanced therapies and clinical trials and will use this experience to work with manufacturers (and their supply chains) to significantly increase their capacity to deliver advanced therapies effectively, safely, and seamlessly to patients within the NHS. It will identify gaps in our existing provision and develop solutions to narrow and eliminate the gaps. It will share the best practice that it develops to other ATTCs and to other NHS organisations. The outcomes will be to deliver these promising therapies to NHS patients and to make the NHS a global leader in their delivery, creating health and wealth for the UK."