CRB making global impact in cell and gene therapy

CRB is proud to be listed as one of five companies that are powering the cell and gene therapy revolution in the Maryland area!

BioBuzz identified five companies that stand out for their unique technologies and solutions that are responsible for driving progress in the cell and gene therapy field and helping their partners bring their products through the clinic and to the patients that need them. Below is a snippet of what they said about CRB:

CRB is one of the largest design, engineering, construction and consulting firms for the life science industry, and they have unique expertise in the cell and gene therapy space. Since the cell and gene therapy field is evolving so rapidly, for companies to be successful they need to understand and reimagine almost everything in their operation—from supply chain and logistics to workflow, manufacturing, quality, safety, and labor. Each of these components impacts facility design and engineering. It’s such a new industry that many processes haven’t even been developed, making it all that more challenging for companies to navigate their growth. This is where CRB comes in with the expertise to help companies navigate a sea of challenges during their relatively uncharted journey.

One component that CRB brings to the table that sets them apart from other firms is a team of Process Architects, like Grace Linton, RA, AIA, LEED AP BD+C. Worldwide, process architects are a rare breed. Very few companies have one process architect, let alone a team of them. With specialized expertise as licensed architects who are well versed in building codes, building systems and materials, and architectural design, and also cross-trained with an in-depth understanding of process, operational and cGMP regulatory requirements and knowledge of equipment and technology.

The common challenge that most cell and gene therapy companies face is that many of their processes are still evolving or undefined, and most development and manufacturing is done using manual, open processing due to lack of automation options. This makes everything more complicated for regulations and for facility design and operations and is the precise type of scenario that CRB’s process architects are trained to develop solutions for. The early involvement of a process architect can also help companies properly plan the facility for scaling out, and future proof design strategies. Accounting for these scenarios early in the design process for cell and gene therapy production facilities can save the company from expensive challenges later on.

Secondly, CRB is an industry leader in a new integrated project delivery methodology for facility design and construction. In a field where time and money matter in order to bring new therapies to patients cheaper and faster, CRB is becoming a partner of choice for many cell and gene therapy companies. The basics of this framework are somewhat equivalent to agile development for software. The methodology promotes iterative design, engineering and construction throughout the life-cycle of the project, close collaboration between the design and construction teams, subcontractors and client-side, constant communication, and tightly-knit teams focused on a single goal – delivering exceptional results for the client.

CRB applied this new methodology to help Paragon build out its new cGMP gene therapy manufacturing facility that opened earlier this year. “It was this approach that made it possible to deliver 75,000 sq feet of functional space in a record-worthy 15 months after kick-off, helping to put the company in a position to confidently bring on new client programs and grow their pipeline.” shared Matt Khair, CRB’s Senior Associate at the Paragon’s new facility grand opening event.

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