JUNE 2024LIFE SCIENCES REVIEW8IN MY OPINIONIN MY OPINIONBy Matthew (Matt) Hewitt, Executive Director, Scientific Solutions C and GT, Charles River LaboratoriesTHE FUTURE OF THE LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRYDigitizing the Life Sciences IndustryThe COVID-19 pandemic was a major disrupter to the life sciences sector, causing organizations to take a closer look at their operations.It is crucial to enable hybrid (both in-person and remote) collaboration and work among life sciences teams. In addition, it's crucial to manage production quality, safety issues, and supply chain difficulties so that patients and clinical studies receive therapeutics without interruption.Creating and implementing efficient and secure vaccines and anti-viral therapeutics as quickly as possible after the pandemic hit was a primary objective. Therapeutic developers, CRO/CDMOs, and the government came together to develop, test, and distribute vaccines and anti-virals quickly and safely to millions of people.A leader in the cell and gene therapy (C>) field, Matthew Hewitt joined Charles River Laboratories in 2021 as scientific director of scientific solutions in its C> space. He is currently the executive director of Scientific Solutions C>. In his last position, Hewitt oversaw R&D and clinical development for Lonza's C>-focused personalized medicine business unit.Earlier, Hewitt worked at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the tumor immunology and microenvironment program whose goal included boosting cell therapy efficiency in oncology applications, and at the University of Pennsylvania within the gene therapy program (GTP), where he served as associate director of the immunology group focused on AAV gene therapy.He was a senior scientist at Pennsylvania start-up Galleon Pharmaceuticals as well. Hewitt completed his post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins University, where his work focused on neurological regulation of airway illnesses, after receiving his PhD in physiology/immunology from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He presently serves on the Coriell Institute for Medical Research's board of trustees.Matthew (Matt) Hewitt
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