The NIIMBL roadmap initiative continued in Baltimore last week as members of the three topic teams gathered at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland-Baltimore for a Face-to-Face Content Workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to refine current drafts of the three NIIMBL roadmaps currently in development: gene therapy, ADCs/bispecifics, and vaccines. Teams also strategized next steps and set timelines as they work toward publication later this year.
“We are extremely pleased with the progress these teams have made over the last several months of this roadmappimng initiative. These roadmaps will serve as a key guide for the industry in prioritizing critical needs and challenges and will also help inform NIIMBL project call and technical priority areas,” said Ruben Carbonell, NIIMBL Chief Technology Officer.
Last November, NIIMBL engaged leaders from industry, academic institutions, non-profits, and federal agencies to collaborate on NIIMBL roadmaps for the biopharmaceutical industry. The current NIIMBL roadmap is intended to complement existing industrial roadmaps including those sponsored by NIST on lyophilization and cell therapy and the BioPhorum Operations Group’s (BPOG) global roadmap on antibodies. Through a series of prioritization and voting, stakeholders decided to focus current efforts on gene therapy, ADCs/bispecfics, and vaccines as the topics for this round of roadmapping. NIIMBL plans to roadmap in other areas over the next several years.
In March 2018, topic teams gathered for a Face-to-Face Design Workshop to exchange ideas and outline content for their respective roadmaps. Since then, teams have worked virtually to draft their sections. Last week’s workshop gave teams the opportunity to meet in person to make content decisions in preparation for the next phase of development.
“The roadmapping process demonstrates the value a consortium like NIIMBL brings to the industry,” added Associate Institute Director, Chris Roberts. “The diversity of engagement from industry, academia, and federal partners provides the broad perspective required to ensure these documents encompass the full array of needs and opportunities for the sector.”
The three NIIMBL roadmaps are scheduled for publication later in 2018.