Reuters Pharma USA 2024 – Lung-I Cheng

Cell and gene therapies were a major topic of discussion this year at Reuters Pharma USA in Philadelphia. So, pharmaphorum editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock caught up with Lung-I Cheng, VP of cell therapy at Cencora (formerly Amerisource Bergen), for a broad update about the space and a look into what’s changed since they spoke at the same event last year.

Cheng discusses the current momentum, especially in the US after high-profile regulatory approvals. He also talks about how all industry stakeholders need to figure out standardisation and simplify workflows and requirements to get ready for the flood of approvals still to come.

In a wide-ranging conversation, they get into how payment infrastructures are adapting to the one-time nature of cell and gene therapy payments, some of the challenges to implementing value-based contracting and emerging creative solutions to those problems.

Cheng also puts in a plug for Cencora’s upcoming virtual cell and gene therapy summit, and they touch more broadly on the important conference themes of healthcare affordability and accessibility.

Check out the full chat below to check in on one of the most exciting spaces in pharma.