Blog | HemaCare

Combining various treatment approaches is seen as a viable, more powerful means to achieve HIV cure states.

From the time that HIV-related illness and death was first realized in the 1980s until now, efforts to fully understand HIV infection and pathogenesis have been ongoing along with massive research efforts to discover a cure or means to control the spread of the virus. The newest antiviral therapies have made an extraordinary impact on the control of disease progression; however, these do not cure HIV infection and the viral activity returns shortly after antiviral dosing stops. Approaches to achieve HIV immunity are heavily studied, including developing means to provide HIV immunity in T cells and conferring HIV-resistance via gene editing. However, combining various approaches is seen as a viable, more powerful means to achieve HIV control or even a cure.

Last week, HemaCare published an article in Technology Networks discussing how optimal apheresis and collection methods give cell therapies a leading edge¹ 

Cell therapy is a unique field because the “products” are derived from living human cells and where each donor is different, variability is inevitable. Quality precursor material gives cell therapy products their best start. Variable or low-quality starting material introduces a need for complex separation strategies or repeated manufacturing runs, leading to higher costs and resource requirements.¹ To ensure the process utilizes the right resources, scientists must adopt optimal apheresis instrumentation and collection methods as one of the most important steps. 

Apheresis units of stem cells used for transplantation in cancer patients do not all have the same potency. Does your collection center measure up?