EY pitches in to manage complex administration of cellular and genetic therapies

As is becoming better understood daily, individualized treatments like cellular and genetic therapies (CGTs) require close collaboration across healthcare: from clinics and hospitals, to pharma manufacturers and back, with logistics providers, blood centers and other participants along the way, the so-called “vein to vein” supply chain. Now, EY’s Global Health and Wellness sector (which was set up to itself cross-pollinate among healthcare and life sciences clients) is offering a data-sharing platform, branded as Pointellis, to meet these complex needs. At least initially, the focus is on oncology—which happens to be where most CGT activity is focused currently—but it’s just a matter of time before Pointellis will apply to rare diseases and other conditions that individualized therapies are suited for, according to Adlai Goldberg, EY Global Life Sciences Digital, Social and Commercial Innovation leader.

The initial press release about Pointellis emphasizes the need to maintain chain of custody as a therapy is developed for an individual patient. “Pointellis supports a supply chain as bespoke as the treatment itself, one for each and every cancer patient,” says Goldberg. “It maintains the chain of custody and identity; validating every handoff from patient through to drug manufacturer and back again, helping to enable that each patient is treated safely, securely and accurately, every time." The platform is based on Microsoft Azure, the cloud offering of that company, which has been a longstanding partner with EY. To date, three life sciences companies and several healthcare providers have been involved in the Pointellis development.

All that being said, other IT platforms, notably those of TrakCel and Vineti, offer to provide the same chain-of-custody management. But Goldberg says that he expects EY to be collaborating with, rather than competing against, those platforms. “It’s still early days, and these capabilities are evolving,” he says.