The new Cell and Gene Therapy Center, and its team of 100 researchers, will cover multiple therapeutic areas, including hematology, oncology, cardiology and ophthalmology and rare diseases.
Emmes Chief Executive Officer Dr. Christine Dingivan said, “Our reputation and the growth opportunities in cell and gene therapy research drove the decision to establish the center.
"We have supported more than 125 clinical trials that integrate cell or gene therapies and have a long record of successful collaboration with leading investigators in this field.
"This new center centralizes our resources and facilitates expansion in our current strengths to other high-potential areas where we’re building expertise.”
Adam Mendizabal, Ph.D., an Emmes vice president, has been named as the scientific leader of the center. “Innovations in cell and gene therapies are accelerating the opportunity to tackle increasingly complex research questions,” he said.
“Ultimately, what this means is greater potential to test and create life-changing treatments for patients suffering from a wide range of conditions and diseases. The successful partnerships we’ve built with leading cell and gene therapy experts have resulted in more than 100 scientific manuscripts co-authored by Emmes researchers and centered on research results and progress."
In particular, the company has partnered with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and with biopharma companies to evaluate promising therapeutic approaches to improve the outcomes of blood and marrow transplantation and other cellular therapies in blood disorders.
The center will offer Emmes’ full research services, with particular focus in clinical trial operations, study leadership, statistical services, data management, and pharmacovigilance. Regulatory, training and educational support will continue to expand.
“Emmes’ Cell and Gene Therapy Center will harmonize our diverse credentials across multiple therapeutic areas and functions under one roof, allowing our best practices and expertise to be leveraged even more efficiently in this complex environment of evolving therapies,” added Mendizabal.
The Cell and Gene Therapy Center in Rockville, Maryland, follows the launch of Emmes’ Rare Disease Center in Milton Keynes in the UK last year.