Our cell therapy ambition
Our ambition is to realise the full curative potential of cell therapy across a wide range of diseases. We aim to empower the immune system to attack cancers, reset the underlying drivers of immune-mediated diseases, and deliver innovative solutions with the potential to improve the lives of people living with rare diseases.
To achieve this, we are building world-class cell therapy capabilities and advancing a diverse pipeline. We strive to be at the forefront of pioneering the latest technologies to eliminate the barriers standing between patients and cell therapies. Through collaboration with industry, academia, healthcare and regulatory agencies we are committed to building an ecosystem that fosters access to cell therapies, to realise the full curative potential of these transformative medicines.
Engineering next-generation cell therapies
Our leading gene-editing, lentivirus and biologics engineering capabilities enable us to engineer next-generation cell therapies that could overcome some of the challenges that exist today. We are pioneering innovative approaches to deliver the next wave of cell therapies that could more precisely and effectively target disease and be produced at scale.
For example, lengthy manufacturing timelines are one of the most pressing challenges with autologous CAR T-cell therapy that can lead to suboptimal T-cell quality and activity, and delays in treatment. We are exploring new ways to shorten these timelines.
Looking to the future, we are committed to our goal to deliver ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions, including allogeneic and in vivo cell therapies, to increase access for patients worldwide. We envisage a future where physicians could select from libraries of patient-ready cell therapies matched to their disease.
Scaling manufacturing and clinical capabilities to bring cell therapies to more patients
We are building the infrastructure required to bring cell therapies to patients globally, and we continue to scale up our manufacturing and clinical capabilities and grow commercial expertise.
Manufacturing cell therapies: Requires specialised capabilities, and having the right technology, expertise and infrastructure is critical for translating research into effective cell therapy medicines. We have expanded our manufacturing footprint, which now encompasses eight global locations. This includes our recent investment in a state-of-the-art facility in Rockville, Maryland, US, that will focus on manufacturing for critical cancer and immunology trials and future commercial supply in the US.
Clinical capabilities: We are enhancing our clinical capabilities through partnerships with renowned cell therapy treatment centres, including the Moffitt Cancer Center, to accelerate and expand access to cell therapy. Additionally, investigator-initiated trials of our investigational cell therapies in China have enabled rapid generation of proof of concept across oncology and immune-mediated diseases.
Enhancing our world-leading capabilities through external collaboration
Partnerships
- Moffitt Cancer Center: Our collaboration with the Moffitt Cancer Center aims to accelerate our oncology cell therapy pipeline.
- AbelZeta: Accelerating the development of our armoured CAR Ts for solid tumours in China.
- Cellectis: Harnessing our combined cell therapy expertise, capabilities and differentiated gene-editing technology to discover and develop novel allogeneic therapies.
- Medical research council: We are co-funding a postdoctoral fellowship scheme with the MRC to support research into key topics relating to cell therapy including patient safety, delivery in the human body and interactions with the immune system.
- Quell: Using proprietary Treg cell engineering technology to fix cells in a stable suppressive regulatory phenotype and potentially restore immune tolerance in the long term. Initially focusing on type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.
We’re building a diverse pipeline of cell therapies designed to overcome today’s toughest challenges — from persistence to scalability — and unlock new treatment possibilities across cancer, immune-mediated, and rare diseases.
Mark Cobbold
SVP, IO Discovery & Cell Therapy Oncology, AstraZeneca
Apply Now
- 【AstraZeneca】【Medical】Medical Science Liaison, ﾒﾃﾞｨｶﾙ本部 循環器・腎・代謝疾患領域統括部 R-249343 Japan
- Director Network Supply Planning R-253580 Dublin, Ireland
- Associate Director, Global Category Sourcing R-251610 Boston, Massachusetts
- Associate Director, Biostatistics R-253592 Boston, Massachusetts
- Development Scientist III, Analytical Development and Clinical Quality Control R-253447 New Haven, Connecticut
- Senior Director, Epidemiology R-253448 Boston, Massachusetts
- Associate Scientist II, Process Analytical Sciences R-253589 New Haven, Connecticut
- Senior Manager - Network Supply Planning R-246347 Dublin, Ireland
- Associate Medical Director, Global Drug Safety R-250911 Mississauga, Canada
- Senior Manager, Group Internal Audit R-252734 Boston, Massachusetts
