Philly’s life sciences sector is strategizing to remain at the forefront, despite recent shakeups at cell and gene therapy pioneer Spark Therapeutics.
Turmoil at one big company doesn’t necessarily indicate the end of a sector’s strength, according to Rebecca Grant, senior director of life sciences and innovation for the city’s Department of Commerce. While acknowledging the negative impact of job losses caused by the layoffs at Spark, Grant said she’s still optimistic about the industry at large.
“People in these situations, they know how to pivot the innovation that they’ve created thus far,” Grant told reporter Sarah Huffman on Technical.ly Speaking, our monthly segment on WURD Radio’s “Reality Check” hosted by Tonya Pendleton. “[They] will help gene therapy and life sciences to move forward.”
Earlier this year, Spark’s parent company Roche announced a restructuring of the organization and 300 layoffs at its Philadelphia office. The abrupt shift — following Spark’s major success story, from Penn spinout to the era’s largest VC-backed exit — caused a moment of reflection for the cell and gene therapy scene.
From Grant’s perspective, it’s been a time to recognize the moral issues at stake and the ecosystem’s role in supporting these expensive endeavors.
“As these therapies come about that can actually cure people, and they don’t have to continue to take drugs down the line, I think it takes all of us to get involved,” Grant said.
Hopefully, jobs come with that. As a global company, Grant said Roche has the opportunity to bring more production jobs to Philadelphia.
Those types of roles aren’t just for scientists with advanced degrees. There are also training programs for “aseptic techniques,” or keeping an area sterile, and biomanufacturing in the lab at local organizations like the Wistar Institute and the Skills Initiative.
“The research that’s continuing,” Grant said, “is how to make these treatments less expensive and how to manufacture them so that they are more affordable.”
