132134Development of cGMP packaging cell lines for retro & lentivirus production using innovative molecular engineering strategiesClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKRecent advances in the treatment of a range of autoimmune diseases and cancer have required increasingly complex medical solutions. One rapidly expanding range of very successful treatments is the delivery of DNA to human cells (gene therapy) to provide them with new features and properties to help fight disease. A highly efficient method of achieving this is to use modified viruses, such as lentiviruses, to deliver the DNA. However, the process of making lentiviruses is highly inefficient because no cells have yet been made that allow the virus to be packaged efficiently. The reason for this is that some of the genes required to do this are toxic to the cell. We have recently developed a novel solution to this problem, and have already generated a first generation cell line that produces lentiviruses highly efficiently. We now aim to develop clinical grade versions of this cell line and create a series of further, more advanced, cell lines for improved lentivirus production.