President’s Letter
The past several months have been a metaphorical mountain climb in cellular therapy, presenting steep learning curves in immune effector cellular therapy, regulation of regenerative medicine, payment methodologies, clinical outcomes, data management, and other emerging issues. As challenging as these issues are, it is gratifying to see the entire field come together and collaborate to find solutions and implement improvements.
FACT continues its close interactions with accredited organizations, inspectors, its parent organizations the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) and the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), other peer societies, and regulatory agencies. The list of professionals and associations in cellular therapy is long, and the field has a strong network of collaboration.
FACT learned a lot of important lessons in 2017, and plans many process improvements and educational programs in 2018. So much of this is thanks to the support, feedback, and flexibility of our accredited programs, inspectors, and related organizations. Though challenging, the success of cellular therapy is indeed an ascent to higher quality. We should all take the time to stop and look at the view – this is an exciting time for us and for our patients.
Sincerely,
Dennis A. Gastineau, MD
FACT President
