The news reached Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) Director Robert Vonderheide at 11:00 am on August 30, 2017. it was official. That morning, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a personalized cellular immunotherapy developed by Penn Medicine.
Six hours later, von derheide stood above a coffee counter in the atrium of the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine jubilantly to the hundreds of faculty and staff members who had gathered for the milestone’s iconic “flash mob” celebration. Carl June and his team of scientists, doctors, and other dedicated staff have made the dream of using a patient’s own immune cells to treat cancer a reality.
On August 30, 2017, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine faculty and staff gathered for a “flash mob” to celebrate the FDA approval of a personalized cellular immunotherapy developed by Penn Medicine. (Image courtesy of Penn Medicine News)
Vonderheide called the discovery “a sensation overnight over 20 years.” It will be a defining moment for Penn’s identity as a place to hatch and bring to life some of the most revolutionary advances in modern medicine.
FDA approval of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy did not happen by chance with pen medicine. Neither did the others that followed. Since that day, other ongoing medical innovations and research at Penn Medicine have directly impacted at least two dozen FDA approvals granted to cancer drugs and other medical technologies. Patients outside clinical trials. The 11 medical advances documented to date represent the first FDA approval in their respective classes. Eight of them for cancer, two for gene therapy, and the innovative mRNA technology that powers his COVID-19 vaccines around the world.
Faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may lead this important study at various points in the chain of discoveries. From conducting critical discovery science in labs leading to the licensing of compounds and technologies by commercial partners, to leading clinical trials of new therapeutics that are the first to be developed outside the University of Pennsylvania.
The list of pen-related FDA approvals grows each year, and for good reason. Science is moving to make more discoveries based on the underlying mechanisms of disease, especially in new cancer drug discovery. Penn has gone the extra mile to make every part of the path from idea to implementation smooth, especially through a robust clinical trial and commercialization infrastructure. And to ensure that cutting-edge treatments reach patients who need them most, Penn’s medicine team has focused on equity and access during clinical trials and after treatments have been approved. rice field.
Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó made the key discoveries that led to the first FDA approval of an mRNA vaccine. (Image courtesy of Penn Medicine News)
The most ubiquitous new advancement related to pen medicine came in August 2021 when the FDA granted its first full approval to an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was developed by his longtime research partner Drew Weissman, Roberts Family Professor of Vaccine Research, and Catalin Carrico, Adjunct Professor of Neurosurgery.
Hiring faculty with big dreams is essential to drug development, but there are other reasons why Penn Medicine is connected to so many cutting-edge therapies. Foremost, according to Vonderheide, is a strategic focus on translational research and removing barriers between laboratories and clinics.
“The design of our building reflects that value. Standing in the lobby of the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, we see the laboratories where discoveries are made, clinicians design clinical trials, and patients receive treatment. We’re within 100 yards of the clinics where we work, the offices where our executives work, and we get out of the financial model,” he says. “We are a unified, integrated system committed to making science practical for patients.”
For more information, visit Penn Medicine News.