OnCo
technologiesTechnologyEstablished

Viral vector manufacturing (lentiviral, retroviral, AAV)

Producing the engineered viruses that carry a CAR gene into T cells. Viral vector manufacturing is a long-standing bottleneck for cell and gene therapy.

Lentiviral vectors for CAR-T are made by transient transfection of HEK293 cells with plasmid DNA, or increasingly by stable producer cell lines; AAV serves in vivo gene therapy. Capacity shortages in 2018-2022 delayed trials; large CDMOs (Lonza, Thermo Fisher, Charles River, Oxford Biomedica) and in-house plants (Kite, Novartis, BMS) have since expanded. Titre, empty-capsid ratio, and cost per dose are the quality and economic levers.

Generic schematic · not to scale · placeholder for the cell therapy front
T cell + CAR transgene · CAR binds antigen (no MHC needed) · Tumour cell

How it works

Packaging and transfer plasmids co-transfected into producer cells; harvested particles are purified by chromatography and tested for titre, potency, and replication competence.

Strengths
  • Mature quality systems
  • Stable producer lines lowering cost
Limitations
  • Long lead times and high cost
  • Batch variability
  • Plasmid supply dependency

Latest papers

top
Latest papers · live from Europe PMC
Open in Europe PMC

Query for this technology: (TITLE:"Viral vector manufacturing" OR ABSTRACT:"Viral vector manufacturing" OR TITLE:"lentiviral, retroviral, AAV" OR ABSTRACT:"lentiviral, retroviral, AAV") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Viral vector manufacturing (lentiviral, retroviral, AAV), not a curated reading list.

Connected

11top