Health Innovators – Thomas Carlsen

Back in September, the Novo Nordisk Foundation announced the launch of the Cellerator, a cell therapy development and manufacturing facility in Denmark focused on helping bridge the gap between animal proof-of-concept studies and early testing in humans.

During a recent press visit to Copenhagen, pharmaphorum Editor in Chief Jonah Comstock was able to catch up with Thomas Carlsen, the recently-appointed CEO of the Cellerator.

In the video below, Carlsen talks about some of the barriers to bringing cell therapy to patients, why they exist and how the Cellerator hopes to help overcome them. He discusses some of the plans for the new lab, which will be built at the Technical University of Denmark and is meant to open in 2027.

They also discuss trends in the space and how it will likely expand from immune therapies focused on cancer to stem-cell-derived treatments addressing a whole host of common chronic conditions like heart disease, Parkinson’s, and diabetes, and how the ecosystem will have to change when this occurs.

Finally, Carlsen talks a bit about how the Cellerator will vet applicants and accommodate public and private researchers in order to maximise the benefit, ultimately, for patients.

Editor’s Note: The Novo Nordisk Foundation provided lodging in and transportation to Copenhagen for our correspondent. The Foundation was not given any assurance of editorial coverage of the event, positive or negative, nor were they granted prior review of any editorial materials.