NOVEMBER 2023LIFE SCIENCES REVIEW 19found that 30 percent of the population was well-impacted by the drug, and 70 percent was not. For this reason, collecting the right data every time you encounter a patient is crucial for success. On that note, the way to measure a drug's successful impact is not only by measuring its action but also its effect on the quality of life. It is imperative to monitor the real benefits of the drugs we give. At the end of the day, if you measure an improvement that is just a number and the patient experiences no real impact, it is pointless. If you can prove that you are impacting a patient's quality of life, there is a tremendous value.Eurofins has caught onto the advancement and is developing CAR T-cells. Can you share your thoughts on these developments?Cell and gene therapies have proven to be extremely successful in segments like rare diseases, which are mainly impacting pediatric patients and cancer patients. The CAR T-cell segments are tremendously effective in treating liquid tumors like leukemia, especially impacting the pediatric population. We have all celebrated the life-changing impact of CAR T-cell therapy, as we can treat rare diseases that affect a very small population. Recently, the news of a young girl's treatment in the UK using the drug Libmeldy was spotlighted. There was a big debate about how it was able to save her but not her older sister, despite their age difference being less than two years. There was also discourse on the drug's cost of around £3 million. One injection of Libmeldy is all that is required, but the cost is a heavy factor to keep in mind. That said, we finally have a new set of weapons that can change the way rare diseases are treated, especially when they are of genetic origin. The next step is to find a way to attack solid types of cancer, like tumors. The CAR T-cell has not been successful there yet, but we are working on a more potent cell type that will work similarly to CAR T-cells and trigger the immune response against tumors. Immunotherapy is already big, but it will grow further over the next few years.What is some advice you would like to give other senior leaders in the sector?Our industry needs more opportunities and collaborations to reach a state where more players are involved. Each one should understand the different needs of their peers while collectively aiming to serve patients. I hope that we, as an industry, can engage with regulatory bodies and service providers more and make sure the challenges we are facing, from a drug supplier perspective, are addressed. We see a lot of innovation, especially from the device side and the molecular tool side, but sometimes we struggle to implement them.This industry is in crucial need of knowledgeable people. Not only people that have the right knowledge but also those that are passionate about this work. In this industry, there is a lot of failure before reaching moments of celebration. Having perseverance will give you the satisfaction needed to keep going. Hopefully, that's something that will be addressed with time. If you can prove that you are impacting a patient's quality of life, there is a tremendous valueThis article is based on an interview between Life Science Review Europe and Stefano Baila.
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