Commercialization of CAR-T therapy in New Zealand: clinical insights & scalable manufacturing

Dr Tamara Laskowski is the Senior Director and Head of Clinical & Process Development at Lonza . In her role, she supports the development of novel T cell and NK cell therapies targeting solid and hematological malignancies and the transition of processes from pre-clinical stage into clinical manufacturing. Moreover, Dr Laskowski oversees the implementation of enhanced analytics for monitoring critical attributes associated with product fitness and function. Dr Laskowski received a doctorate degree in the fields of Human Molecular Genetics and Immunology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston where her work focused on targeted genome editing of patient stem cells to correct genetic mutations linked to immune disorders. Dr Laskowski was awarded a fellowship to the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program dedicated to training scientists to develop strategies for expanding the economic and societal benefits of innovative ideas that have commercialization potential. She was the sole recipient of an award for outstanding performance upon completion of the program.

Trained as a physician scientist, Laurence has had leadership positions in academia and industry in cancer, gene therapy, immunotherapy, and infectious disease. He has developed and implemented numerous cellular therapies translating ideas and technologies from bench to bedside and back. Laurence has helped start and fund multiple companies inside and outside of biotechnology. He has been a CEO for a public company and held multiple academic appointments including Pediatrics, Oncology, and Immunology, Chief Bone Marrow Transplantation, and was a tenured professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and on faculty at UTHealth Houston Graduate School. Among his current appointments, he is on the Board of BioOra which is commercializing CD19-specific CAR-T manufactured using the Cocoon Platform. He is a board-certified physician and is the author of numerous papers, books, and patents.