UCD and NIBRT announce new €2M gene therapy project with APC

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD yesterday announced a €2 million co-funded investment by Research Ireland and APC Ltd. To be funded for the next five years, TRANS-AM is a collaborative research partnership between APC Ltd, the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), and University College Dublin (UCD), and is focussed on gene therapies. 

Announcing the funding at a visit to APC Ltd’s Cherrywood facility in Dublin, Minister Lawless said: “I am very pleased to announce this exciting and truly collaborative partnership between APC Ltd, a globally renowned, Irish-owned enterprise, and leading research talent at NIBRT and UCD. In a relatively short time, gene therapy has delivered extraordinary medical advances and, in many cases, life-changing outcomes for patients. Through research partnerships like this, we are deepening collaboration with industry, an approach that can be instrumental in delivering groundbreaking research with real benefits for Irish society, our economy, and our international reputation at the forefront of discovery.”

Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO Research Ireland, said: “Research Ireland values the ingenuity, competitive advantage and multiple other benefits that can stem from substantive enterprise-academic collaboration. Through Strategic Partnership co-funding from Research Ireland and APC Ltd & VLE, TRANS-AM is now well-positioned to conduct cutting-edge research in the emergent field of gene therapy that, in time, can address process optimisation and deliver cost efficiencies for patients. I want to congratulate the TRANS-AM project team and, in particular, to thank APC Ltd & VLE for its commitment to resourcing what are critically important collaborative research endeavours.”

TRANS-AM (Transformation of Advanced Medicines Manufacture) is led by Professor Niall Barron, NIBRT Principal Investigator and Professor of Biochemical Engineering in the School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering in UCD. 

Professor Barron commented: “We warmly welcome this significant and timely investment by Research Ireland and APC Ltd. In recent years, several examples of a new class of medicines – gene therapies – have been approved for use in Ireland and internationally. These medicines are revolutionary, in that they are designed to replace faulty genes within the patient. In some cases, the patient is effectively cured. These gene therapies are delivered most efficiently by viruses (e.g. AAV – adeno-associated virus), which are made using living cells grown in large vessels. This manufacturing process contributes to their high cost. Our research, in partnership with APC Ltd & VLE, aims to identify more efficient and effective ways to produce and analyse these therapies to reduce the cost of manufacturing them. It’s a challenge we are looking forward to.”

Brian Glennon, Group CTO & Co-Founder, APC Ltd & VLE Therapeutics, commented: "Advanced therapies will define the next decade of medicine, and through TRANS-AM, with NIBRT and UCD, we are building the capability to turn discovery into reliable, scalable manufacture. The focus is practical and patient-driven: higher-performing producer and host systems, robust process control, and real-time insight at the moments where decisions matter most. That combination delivers speed with certainty – earlier proof of comparability, smoother technology transfer, and a clearer path to sustainable cost of goods. Ireland has a unique ecosystem to lead in this field; by investing together we are creating capability that serves patients here and around the world. Our measure of success is simple: more programs moving forward with fewer delays, and therapies reaching people who need them, sooner."

APC Ltd is a global leader in biopharmaceutical process development and the R&D engine of The Medicine Accelerator alongside sister company VLE Therapeutics for GMP manufacture. TRANS-AM is designed not only to deliver research progress, but to translate practical outputs toward GMP pathways with VLE Therapeutics, supporting smoother technology transfer and future clinical manufacturing. 

Paul McCabe, COO, VLE Therapeutics, commented: “At APC Ltd & VLE Therapeutics, our role is to transfer proven settings from the bench into predictable pathways to our GMP plants. This partnership helps align methods, control strategies, and data standards earlier in development so transfer into GMP is faster and more reliable. We bring the strength of our GMP professionals, PhD scientists and engineers, digital experts, and leadership to support every step from process definition to manufacturing transfer and qualification. Teams get clearer comparability evidence, right-first-time execution, a better path to sustainable cost of goods and accelerator supply of life-changing therapies to clinical trials.”

Dr Fiona Killard-Lynch, CSO and Director of Research and Innovation, NIBRT, noted: “This is a powerful example of Ireland’s innovation system at its best, an indigenous industry leader partnering with NIBRT and UCD to accelerate advanced medicines. TRANS-AM will strengthen Ireland’s position in gene therapy manufacturing and develop the skilled workforce we need, while keeping affordability and patient impact at the centre.”
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About Transformation of Advanced Medicines Manufacture (TRANS-AM)

• Project Summary:The project aims to address key elements of advanced therapeutic production and characterisation to investigate ways in which the vector production process could be enhanced or improved using a range of novel approaches. Presently, low vector yields, variable vector quality and a limited understanding of the processes involved make it difficult to deliver cost-effective and optimised production processes for therapeutic applications. The capability to successfully address these challenges would represent a significant opportunity for the biopharma sector in Ireland, while also providing the long-term societal impact of lowering treatment costs, thus increasing the accessibility of advanced therapies to the general public.
• Lead PI:Professor Niall Barron, NIBRT Principal Investigator and Professor of Biochemical Engineering in the School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering in UCD
• Co-PIs:Dr Jessica Whelan (UCD); Dr Jonathan Bones (NIBRT); Dr Ioscani Jimenez del Val (UCD); and Dr Colin Clarke (NIBRT)
• Total number of research positions supported:8 (2 postdocs, 6 PhD students)

About NIBRT

The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) is a global centre of excellence for training and research in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. NIBRT is located in a world class facility in Dublin, Ireland. This facility is purpose built to closely replicate a modern bioprocessing plant with state-of-the-art equipment and enables NIBRT to offer the highest quality training and research solutions. NIBRT’s mission is to support the growth and development of all aspects of the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry. (opens in a new window)www.nibrt.ie

NIBRT is at the forefront of biopharmaceutical innovation, tackling the biggest challenges in next-generation medicine production. Our research spans cell and gene therapies, RNA-based medicines, and advanced protein biologics, driving fundamental discoveries that redefine biopharmaceutical manufacturing. NIBRT is also home to CONCEPT our Core Facility for Early-Stage Biotherapy Development. CONCEPT provides an advanced research environment to accelerate the development of next-generation biotherapies, offering specialised infrastructure and expertise to support early-stage process development, high-throughput screening, and characterisation of novel therapeutics. Through CONCEPT, NIBRT is enabling innovation in cell and gene therapy, protein-based biopharmaceuticals, and emerging biotherapeutic modalities. For more information, please visit (opens in a new window)https://concept-nibrt.ie/