What are cell and gene therapies and what's the connection with SARS-CoV-2 jabs?

MHHA/EMA used the wrong regulatory designation

Cell and gene therapies in context

The best place to start is probably the organisation set up to promote the adoption and growth of cell and gene therapies in the UK—the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.

This is an explanation on the CGTC website, titled What are cell and gene therapies?:

“Cell Therapy

Cell therapy uses cultivated cells which have been genetically modified to address a specific genetic condition. Cells cultivated under carefully controlled conditions are introduced to the patient and contain vital genetic information to induce the required therapeutic effect.

Cells can be acquired from an individual patient whose cells are processed and re-administered into the patient, known as autologous cell therapy. In some instances, the cells may have been adapted from donor cells. This is known as allogeneic cell therapy.

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is a new-age treatment, it works by changing a patient’s DNA on a cellular level either with treatments inside the body (in vivo) or outside the body (ex vivo). Many of these treatments use therapeutic viruses, which are engineered to induce changes in a patient’s cells.

Research into Cell and Gene Therapy becomes real for patients when breakthroughs translate into the manufacture of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). These new medicines treat genetic diseases at the source by affecting changes in their tissue, cells, or DNA with the potential to provide an effective ‘once only’ treatment to alleviate severe disease.”

Have to be honest with you…

Being honest, and reminding you I’m qualified as a production engineer, not a scientist, I’m still a bit confused. Both seem to involve genetic modification of human cells to address a particular health condition. It would be great if any scientists reading this can explain the difference :O).

Anyway, what we can take away from the definitions is that: “Research into Cell and Gene Therapy becomes real for patients when breakthroughs translate into the manufacture of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs).”

So what are ATMPs?