This article was originally published in the October 26, 2018, edition of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and is republished here in its entirety.

Aldevron is a sponsor for the Rare Disease Day program, "Gene Therapy for Rare Diseases: Promise and Challenges", presented by the University of Minnesota Center for Orphan Drug Research and Stem Cell Institute on February 23, 2018. Dr. Jakub Tolar, Dean, Medical School, University of Minnesota, will moderate the event, which will include presentations by University of Minnesota faculty and a representative from Abeona Therapeutics.

Last month I took part in a workshop on gene and cell therapy manufacturing at the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine’s Cell and Gene Meeting on the Mesa. It was a pleasure to participate with very distinguished colleagues: Matthew Caple, Vice President of Site Operations at Brammer Bio; Mike Kelly, Director, Asset Leadership and Portfolio Management, Gene Therapy, Biogen; and Michael Roberts, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Synpromics.

The workshop was moderated by Jessica Carmen, Ph.D., Director of Business Development, Cellular Therapy Partnerships, MaxCyte and sponsored by MaxCyte and Brammer Bio. Dr. Carmen did a great job taking us on a journey through manufacturing from construct design through raw material manufacturing, viral vector manufacturing, and ultimately commercialization.