Anthony Nolan to open stem cell collection centre to help patients and enable cell and gene therapy research

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