Werum IT Solutions and Blood Centers of America prepare for CGT

Werum IT Solutions, providers of manufacturing execution systems (MES) and related IT, has a strategic partnership with Blood Centers of America (BCA), a network of independent blood centers that represent nearly 40% of the North American blood supply. The partnership will cover both autologous and allogenic CGTs—the former requiring pickup and delivery of the patient’s own cells; the latter requiring closely managed collection of cellular materials. Supply chain management in CGTs is an evolving field; practitioners in the subject speak of a “chain of compliance” from and to patients, almost always involving close temperature control of cells, and frequently requiring cryogenic preservation.

Werum is a well-recognized player in life sciences MES; its flagship solution, PAS-X, allows for creation and management of electronic batch records. Dr. Andreas Fischer, sr. head of Werum’s SafeCell business unit, says that an end-to-end solution covering both manufacturing and logistics will be developed. Charles Mooney, VP Bio-Development & Quality Management at the Oklahoma Blood Institute and BCA Cell Therapy Committee Chair, adds that “To efficiently manage cell and gene therapies the market needs a comprehensive ‘vein-to-vein’ IT solution that we will create together.”