Stem cell charity Anthony Nolan has announced the opening of the Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre in Nottingham, UK.
Founded in 1974, Anthony Nolan created the world's first stem cell register and has since been a pivotal resource for medical teams seeking unrelated donor transplants for patients, as well as for researchers in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.
Opening in the coming months, the facility will help life-saving stem cells quickly reach patients with blood cancers or blood disorders and will also enable donations for cell and gene therapy research.
The new cell collection centre will operate in collaboration with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, situated at Queen's Medical Centre.
A sharp increase in the cell and gene therapy industry's demand for cell collection capacity has placed incremental strain on the global supply chain. In the UK alone a recent report1 estimated new advanced therapy medicinal products would represent an additional 25% increase in demand for apheresis procedures at a time when the NHS services are already operating at capacity.
Nicola Alderson, chief operating officer at Anthony Nolan, said: "The UK healthcare system is working hard to meet this demand and Anthony Nolan is proud to play a role in expanding cell collection capacity. We have nearly one million potential donors on our stem cell register and having our own cell collection centre will ensure they have the best possible experience as well as accelerating patient treatment.
"It also puts Anthony Nolan in the unique position of fully vertically integrating its cell therapy and laboratory services offering, making us the partner of choice for industry looking to bring new cell therapy treatments to patients."
Anthony Nolan's stem cell donors have already helped progress the development of treatments for blood diseases and other conditions. The new centre will complement Anthony Nolan's existing facilities in Nottingham, including the Cell Therapy Centre at Nottingham Trent University's Clifton campus, which houses an umbilical cord blood bank and a research facility focused on using cord blood in medical treatments.
Professor Stephen Ryder, co-clinical director of research & innovation at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, says: "We're delighted that Anthony Nolan will be working with our clinical team in Research & Innovation to launch the charity's first stem cell collection centre at our NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility.
"Not only will this new facility ensure patients can receive life-saving cells when they most need them, the Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre meets with our ambition to drive forward our programme of experimental research which aims to both transform - and potentially save - many lives in years to come."
Anthony Nolan has partnered with Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies, a world-leading manufacturer of specialised medical technologies, who are providing their Spectra Optia™ Apheresis Systems for cell collection at the new centre.
Antoinette Gawin, CEO of Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies, said: "Patients and donors are at the heart of this growing field of healthcare, and their experience, access and outcomes need to remain the focus.
"Because our Spectra Optia is used in over 67% of white blood cell collections worldwide, we have extensive data and analytics to help inform the standardisation of cell collections, ensuring the best quality cells are collected. We will leverage what we've learned through training and technology to help the Anthony Nolan team and its partners optimise each donation."
To find out more about the Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre, visit: www.anthonynolan.org
About Anthony Nolan
Anthony Nolan is a UK stem cell transplant charity with 50 years of expertise in uniting science and people to push the boundaries of what can be achieved for blood cancer and blood disorder patients.
Its world-leading stem cell register matches potential donors to patients in need of transplants. It carries out cell and gene therapy research to increase transplant success and supports patients through their transplant journeys.
Anthony Nolan helps four people in need of a transplant a day, giving more people a second chance at life. But the charity won't stop until all patients have access to the treatment they need, so many more survive.
Join Anthony Nolan's register or support its research. Together, with your help, Anthony Nolan can unlock the answers inside us anthonynolan.org
What is a stem cell transplant?
If a patient has a condition that affects their bone marrow or blood, then a stem cell transplant may be their best chance of survival. Doctors will give new, healthy stem cells to the patient via their bloodstream, where they begin to grow and create healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Key statistics
- Founded by Shirley Nolan in 1974, Anthony Nolan celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
- The charity facilitates around 1,100 stem cell transplants from an unrelated donor every year for patients in the UK and more than 300 for patients abroad. For many, a transplant is their last chance of survival.
- Since its inception Anthony Nolan has facilitated over 26,500 transplants for people around the world.
- Around 90% of donors donate through PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell collection). This is a simple, outpatient procedure. Donors are supported throughout the process by the Anthony Nolan team.
- Currently 16% of the UK Anthony Nolan stem cell register is made up of young men, but they account for more than half of people called upon to donate.
- There is a pressing need to recruit more people from diverse backgrounds to the Anthony Nolan register, to help more patients from minority ethnic backgrounds find the lifesaving matches they need.
- Blood cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer in the UK and the third biggest cancer killer. It accounts for 9% of all new cases of cancer diagnosed in the UK.
- To join the Anthony Nolan register, you must be 16-30 and healthy. Anthony Nolan's world-leading Research Institute has shown younger donors offer better survival rates for patients.
About Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies
Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (Terumo BCT) is a medical technology company. Our products, software and services enable customers to collect and prepare blood and cells to help treat challenging diseases and conditions.
Our employees worldwide believe in the potential of blood and cells to do even more for patients than they do today. This belief inspires our innovation and strengthens our collaboration with customers. Terumo BCT's customers include blood centers, hospitals, therapeutic apheresis clinics, cell collection and processing organizations, researchers and private medical practices.
Our customers are based in over 150 countries. We have 750+ granted patents, with more than 150 additionally pending. We have global headquarters in Lakewood, Colorado, along with four regional headquarters, seven manufacturing sites and five research and development centers across the globe. Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies is a subsidiary of Terumo Corporation (TSE: 4543), a global leader in medical technology.
www.terumobct.com
Spectra Optia™ Apheresis System
The Spectra Optia system is a user-friendly, versatile, industry-leading therapeutic apheresis, cell processing and cell collection platform that allows operators to spend more time focusing on patient care.
Therapeutic apheresis is used widely for a variety of applications. For example, practitioners use red blood cell exchange (RBCX) for sickle cell disease treatment; cell collections for stem cell transplantations and to collect starting material for cell therapies; and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) to treat many diseases in both the chronic and acute setting in the neurology, nephrology and hematology spaces.
*Product and protocol availability varies by country.
1www.theattcnetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ATTC-Apheresis-Horizon-Scanning-report.pdf