R-PR Gencell: A Gene Therapy Alliance Model

The commercial potential of gene and cell therapy has recently been recognized by the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to the traditional pharmaceutical-biotechnology deals, several pharmaceutical-based consortia have emerged as alternative models for gene and cell therapy product development. They have arisen in response to the fundamentally different nature of gene therapy product development, according to Josef Bossart of R-PR Gencell, speaking at The Economist's third pharmaceuticals conference in London, UK, last month (Marketletter October 28).

R-PR Gencell, a unit of the Franco-American pharmaceutical company Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, has developed one such model centered on a dedicated global division within R-PR containing discovery research, clinical development and production capabilities. R-PR Gencell has allied itself with an array of international partner companies and institutions while technologies complement those resident within the division.

The benefit to R-PR includes cost effective access to multiple new technologies while the partners benefit from complementary R-PR technologies, development resources, financial support, and access to the commercialization resources of a global pharmaceutical company, said Mr Bossart. The R-PR Gencell network concept is a dynamic one, where it is to be expected that partners "retire" from the network as their needs and capabilities evolve.