European Commission invests nearly $475 million in gene transfer and gene therapy projects

Over the past three funding stages, the European Commission has invested nearly $475 million in 100 projects in the gene transfer and gene therapy field. David Gancberg, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission (Brussels), describes the substantial opportunities for funding to support basic and clinical research in gene and cell therapy to find new treatments for chronic and rare diseases and novel regenerative medicine approaches in a Commentary article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Human Gene Therapy website.

Dr. Gancberg and co-author Ruxandra Draghia-Akli state, "More than ever, the European Union offers to the gene and cell therapy sectors the possibilities of financial support to bright and innovative consortia ready to develop, possibly in collaboration with industry, new therapeutic applications to be tested in clinical trials, or novel products for the market, and build sustainable networks of expertise in the field," in their article "Gene and Cell Therapy Funding Opportunities in Horizon 2020: An Overview 2014-2015."

"Funding for gene therapy provided by the European Commission over the last decade has been critical to the current success we are seeing in the clinics. The commentary provided by doctors Gancberg and Draghia-Akli describe exciting new programs." says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

Source: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News