Autolus
University College London

Gene therapy has revolutionised the way we approach the treatment of human disease, from cancers to autoimmune diseases. There are multiple approaches to gene therapy, a popular one being the use of lentiviral vectors (LVV), owing to their effectiveness and versatility. However, the manufacturing process of LVVs comes with high costs and low final product yield.

Sara’s project seeks to determine the impact of factor-interaction between the different unit operations involved in LVV manufacturing process. The ultimate aim of Sara's project, via exploring new approaches for viral vector purification, is to develop a simple, scalable, and cost-effective downstream process that prioritises high recovery with high purity. This will help to reduce manufacturing costs and increase final product yield.

These reduced production costs, will in turn minimise treatment expenses and allow for wider access to vitally important gene therapy treatments.

Biography

Sara was raised in Portugal, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and a Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She began her work on viral vectors at GSK in 2018, before joining Autolus in 2020 where she is continuing working on LVVs in her PhD in partnership with the Biochemical Engineering department from the University College London.