
CUHK launches first GMP facility in Hong Kong for cell and gene therapy
CUHK and HKSTP jointly establish the Advanced Therapy Products Good Manufacturing Practice Centre to unveil a new chapter in the development of Hong Kong’s biotechnology ecosystem.
CUHK and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation jointly established the Advanced Therapy Products (ATP) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Centre in June, which is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. The centre is located at the Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology Limited (HKIB), adjoining the Science Park.
The new facility provides a Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) GMP-compliant facility that will produce clinical grade ATPs for approved clinical trials and treatment. The centre will foster collaboration between government, academic institutions, and the industrial and commercial sectors with the goal of establishing a world-class cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing industry in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
From vision to reality
The road to the establishment of the centre began in 1988, when former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sir Charles Kao envisioned biotechnology as critical to the future prosperity of Hong Kong and established the HKIB, aiming to research and develop biotechnological solutions in Hong Kong.
Three and a half decades later, CUHK and HKIB’s continuous efforts have resulted in the ATP GMP Centre, which promises to be an important asset in CUHK’s research into cell gene therapy. Both cell and gene therapies are essential in biomedical research, and have been frequently explored for their potential in curing genetic diseases. They work by modifying genes in specific cells that are then inserted into the body, which can treat previously untreatable diseases. However, manufacturing products for therapy often takes time and money, and is hampered by the need for clean production environments. The limited number of such facilities can create a bottleneck, wasting valuable time that might otherwise be spent on further research and distributing products out to the general public.
The ATP GMP Centre was established to remedy this problem. GMP is a system for ensuring that products are of consistently high standard. CUHK Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rocky S. Tuan said, ‘The new centre combines the proven capabilities of CUHK and the HKSTP to accelerate the development of life-saving cancer therapies, regenerative medicine, and related biomedical technologies, and enable the translation of scientific research into tangible benefits for patients in Hong Kong and beyond’.
The centre will pave way for a world-class cell and gene therapy manufacturing industry in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
A state-of-the-art facility
The ATP GMP Centre features six operationally segregated clean rooms, all PIC/S GMP-compliant and designed specifically for CGT product manufacturing and multiple ATP processes. This will accelerate the development of CGT treatments from the clinical trial stage to full commercial-scale production and dramatically improve time to market.
The ATP GMP centre offers academic and non-academic collaborators flexible manufacturing solutions without the capital investment of building their own facilities. The centre features a highly skilled workforce, cluster development and excellent logistics infrastructure. Collaborators can access several segregated modules to manufacture their own products. The centre will also provide a unique ATP GMP key personnel training ground, promoting translation of academic research in response to changing and new industry demands.
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