The COVID-19 pandemic impacted nearly every aspect of the cell and gene therapy supply chain. That required companies throughout the cell and gene therapy industry to pivot quickly to continue to deliver for patients. Be The Match BioTherapies® was no exception.
For many in the field of cell and gene therapy, 2020 had a singular theme: COVID-19. Dozens of clinical and preclinical trials were launched in labs around the world to test the efficacy of cell therapies to target complications from COVID-19 infection. But while the pandemic drew most of the media attention, it wasn’t the…
Just like for all businesses, March 2020 began what would become months of uncharted territory for our Be The Match BioTherapies® team. Overnight, travel to visit with cell therapy partners and potential clients was grounded. Conferences where connections are made…canceled. Even team meetings that were once in person moved online. But through these challenges, resiliency…
As the race for remedies to COVID-19 continues, basic questions about the virus’s pathology and virulence remain unanswered. While much about the disease is unknown, this much is clear: COVID-19 is accelerating medical innovation, especially in the field of cell therapies. Researchers with CellTrials.org report that well over 100 clinical and preclinical trials have been…
Travel disruptions caused by COVID-19 have meant little more than delayed holidays or missed work meetings for most of us. They’re inconveniences, but hardly life-threatening challenges. But for patients who depend on cell therapies to provide potentially curative treatments, the pandemic’s canceled flights and closed borders have posed a real threat to their wellbeing. In…
During the COVID-19 pandemic, couriers from the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP)/Be The Match® have been a key link in the cell therapy supply chain. They’ve delivered thousands of time-sensitive therapies to waiting patients around the world. Kelley Steffens became an NMDP/Be The Match courier during COVID-19. Here she shares the story of her first…
There is no question the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted cell therapy logistics like never before. Supply chain challenges are no longer the exception, but the norm. So how can companies overcome autologous cell therapy logistics challenges to deliver time-sensitive source material and manufactured therapies on time? It’s not easy in our current environment, but it…
As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of biotech companies are pursuing clinical trials to determine the efficacy of using cell therapies to halt the virus’s deadly march. One such example is the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), multipotent stem cells found in a variety of tissues such as bone…
This piece written by Joy Aho, PhD, Senior Product Manager, Be The Match BioTherapies®, was originally published on CellandGene.com in April 2020. We’re living through unprecedented times, both as individuals and as a nascent cell therapy field. The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative implications for manufacturing and shipping across nearly all industries, including very pronounced…