Gene therapy’s promise depends on the ecosystem now being built to deliver real product to patients – safely and at quantities that match the soaring expectations fed by the curative potential of the science. To assess the state of play, In Vivo talks to the man who leads the team responsible for bringing forward the first US-approved gene therapy to treat an incurable, inherited genetic condition: John Furey, chief operating officer of Spark Therapeutics. 

Cancer's chief professional practice organization, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), is working to transform the post-treatment pathway for survivors of cancer. It is part of an overall movement in the cancer community emphasizing the importance of making current treatments work better for more patients. 

The 16 million survivors of cancer in the US today form a restless constituency with its own disparate set of interests – and by sheer weight of numbers is beginning to direct changes to medical practice that pose both risks and opportunity for biopharma.

The growing prominence of a 16-million-strong community of cancer survivors is having a significant long-term impact on the practice of oncology and the expectations of providers and patients toward the biopharma enterprise.  

Strong foundational research in immunology and some promising early phase trial results have so far failed to expedite the validation of vaccines to treat cancer. In Vivo examines biopharma’s enduring optimism about the future of cancer vaccinology, including a closer look at one company’s platform to tackle the incurable malignancies that beset the mother of all organs: the human brain.