The National Center for Regenerative Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland has begun working with a Columbus, Ohio-based contract development and manufacturing organization to train and attract top talent for the gene therapy industry.
A manufacturing boom for gene therapy manufacturers has created a demand for trained workers who will be the foundation of the success for the gene therapy industry, said Timothy Miller, CEO, president and co-founder of Columbus-based Forge Biologics, in a press release.
"We are especially excited to be partnering with the (national center) to help expand the talent pool of trained gene therapy manufacturers in the Midwest," Miller said.
In the past two decades, Ohio has developed an environment that supports, encourages and drives cutting-edge gene therapy research and commercialization, according to a JobsOhio report.
That ecosystem is anchored by Nationwide Children's Hospital and Ohio State University in Columbus, JobsOhio says.
But Cleveland is home to the only two commercial cell-therapy manufacturers in the state, Abeona Therapeutics and Athersys, according to a report by Daria Fedyukina, a translational officer at Case Western Reserve's School of Medicine and a gene and cell therapy consultant with BioHeights LLC in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
"Qualified and experienced technologists are a rare breed," Fedyukina said.
"Every expert I have spoken with agrees that staffing is always an issue," Fedyukina said. "There are just not enough people who (have) such training, and there are almost no educational programs that prepare qualified techs for cell and vector manufacturing jobs."
The Forge Forward program would help build and extend Ohio's leadership in gene and cell therapy manufacturing by teaching students the basics of gene therapy manufacturing, Forge Biologics said in its press release.
Students in the program will be trained to work in both research and manufacturing environments through both lecture and hands-on laboratory experience in cell culture and sterile techniques, Forge Biologics said.
"The National Center for Regenerative Medicine training environment offers a unique opportunity to respond adeptly to the needs of the regenerative medicine biotechnology industry of the state," said Dr. Stanley Gerson, interim dean of Case Western Reserve’s School of Medicine and director for the national center, in a press release.
The Forge Forward internship initiative aims to integrate the experience of the national center and the Master’s of Regenerative Medicine and Entrepreneurship degree, said Cheryl Thompson, associate professor and assistant dean of educational initiatives for the school of Medicine, in a press release.
"This program has the potential to provide the experiential learning our students want and the specific skills they need for employment in this rapidly growing field," Thompson said.
