CATTI opens a cell and gene therapy training centre at the University of Guelph
by CM staff
The training program, to begin in summer 2023, will cater to recent post-secondary graduates, industry professionals and companies growing their roster of clean room manufacturing staff.
Rendering of the training site (left) and actual site (right) (CNW Group/Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute)
GUELPH —The Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute (CATTI) Inc., has launched its first in-person training site at the University of Guelph through a partnership with OmniaBio Inc., CCRM and the university.
The training program, to begin in summer 2023, will cater to recent post-secondary graduates, industry professionals and companies growing their roster of clean room manufacturing staff.
“The biosafety level 2 lab space at the University of Guelph will expand CATTI’s offering in central Canada and provide hands-on-learning in a one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art space for workers across Canada and internationally,” said Vanessa Laflamme, CEO, CATTI. “We expect to train over 600 people in the next two years, including over 300 employees for OmniaBio, one of CATTI’s strategic customers.”
The fast growth of cell and gene therapies (CGTs) has made it a challenge for the global industry to keep up with talent requirements. This new CGT technical training site will begin to address the industry’s critical training needs and represents the first stage of a larger, multi-site training strategy for CATTI.
“When CCRM and CellCAN launched CATTI in 2021, our vision was to build a skilled biomanufacturing workforce in Canada to meet current and future needs. This training site at the University of Guelph will play an important role as Canada prepares and adapts to an emerging industry that represents the future of medicine,” said Michael May, President and CEO, CCRM. “This is a first for Canada, and I’m pleased to see this coming to fruition so quickly as it will benefit Canadians by fostering a strong, domestic biomanufacturing industry.”
For the first year, the program will focus on human pluripotent stem cell banking, aseptic techniques, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) optimized for CGT manufacturing, and lab skills (such as pipetting, vessel handling, microscope operation, and more).
The curriculum will include a combination of online courses and hands-on courses in a specialized training lab designed to focus on providing GMP industry standard skill sets.
