As the cell and gene therapy industry continues to rapidly evolve, efficient, reproducible, scalable, and cost-effective viral vector manufacture is of critical importance. Adenovirus, retrovirus, lentivirus, and adeno-associated virus (AAV) remain the most commonly used vectors for the delivery of in vivo and ex vivo gene therapies, and a successful viral manufacturing pipeline must be able to deliver a consistent, pure, and high-titer product that exhibits good safety and efficacy.

At the same time, non-viral delivery platforms such as mRNA continue to evolve and grow in terms of their utility for the advanced therapies field, presenting novel challenges and opportunities for bioprocess developers.

For the viral vector field in particular, downstream processing requires the purification of virus particles from process-and product - related impurities including host cell material, plasmid DNA, and empty capsids. In addition, downstream processing of both viral vectors and mRNA can represent a significant portion of the total cost of production, so effective methods of generating high purity vector product are crucial.

The following collection of curated content from Thermo Fisher Scientific explores the key role that viral vectors and mRNA play in cell and gene therapy, the current challenges facing the field, and potential solutions for successful vector manufacture.