Standard Approach to atMP tissue colLEction (SAMPLE)

"**Advance Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)** **are a new generation of treatments which use patients' cells as 'drugs' to treat a variety of diseases.** Although encouraging results have been reported, this technology is complex, expensive and currently only available to small numbers of patients.

In **2018** the **UK** have formed **a network of three Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres (ATTCs)** supported by the **Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult**. The ATTC network have partners made up of: ATMP developers & manufacturers, National Blood Services, Hospitals, Universities, logistics providers, raw materials suppliers & technology providers. This project is being led by the **iMATCH ATTC** (innovate Manchester Advanced Therapy Centre Hub) but involves collaboration with the other 2 ATTCs Midlands & Wales ATTC and Northern Alliance ATTC and introduces a new partner (Guy's & St Thomas's Hospital, London) to expand activities outside the ATTCs. This **Project** ""**SAMPLE**"" will harnesses a group of collaborators who share a vision of working more efficiently together so we can develop a standardised approach to the collection of tissue & cell based starting materials essential to the manufacture of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. Ultimately, making improvements enabling more life changing treatments to be provided to children and adults with cancer and non-cancer diseases.

This project unites experts from Scotland, England & Wales: NHS Blood & Transplant, SNBTS, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and 4 businesses with specific expertise in different aspects of delivering Advanced Therapies. The 4 commercial partners are; Asymptote, Autolus, Cellular Therapeutics & TrakCel as well as 3 non-funded participation from global medicine manufacturers and technology providers: Novartis, Gilead & Terumo BCT.

We are going to focus on: coordinating patient cell collection, processing and storage of those cells and enabling efficient systems to collect **SAMPLES** from the patient or donor and so streamlining the manufacture and enabling an increase in the number of patients being treated.

The UK is a world leader in these types of treatments and this investment by Innovate UK will build on these innovative therapies and technologies thereby improving the lives of the UK population but also making the UK a destination for both investment and also other non-UK developed therapies in both trials and ultimately standard therapies."