The Greater Philadelphia Cell & Gene Therapy and Connected Health Initiative, a multi-year project of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s CEO Council for Growth and 11 partner organizations that was launched in 2019, continues its efforts in 2022 to build awareness about the region’s leading cell and gene therapy hub.

“We anticipate another fantastically successful year in 2022 for Greater Philadelphia’s cell and gene therapy hub,” said Claire Marrazzo Greenwood, senior vice president of Economic Competitiveness for the Chamber and executive director of its CEO Council for Growth.

In 2022, the CEO Council for Growth and its partners in the Initiative see opportunity to gain critical, long-term competitive advantage by continuing to focus on shared storytelling, marketing, attraction and expansion efforts. 

As part of the storytelling efforts the Initiative will debut in February a new tool that illustrates the collaboration and connectivity within the region’s cell and gene therapy sector. The 90-second “Greater Philadelphia: Discovery Starts Here” graphic animation shares a snapshot of several of the region’s world-class research institutions and a number of the cell and gene therapy companies that have licensed technologies or spun out from them. The video also lists more than 80 investors that fueled their growth.

“Growing the list of investors putting capital to work in the Greater Philadelphia region is another high priority for the Initiative,” said Greenwood. ”Defining and activating leaders to build the capital, both private and public, necessary for continued industry growth is definitely on the to-do list.”

In addition, Greenwood noted that there will be a focus on execution of the group’s proactive strategy to build the talent needed for the sector, including an update of job growth projections for the sector in the coming decade, additions to the “Discovery Starts With Me” video series, interviews with human resources directors at the region’s cell and gene therapy companies who shared stories of anticipated job growth at their companies and meetings of the Chamber’s Life Science Talent Pipeline Collaborative. 

The Cell & Gene Therapy and Connected Health Initiative is supported by 11 partner companies, institutions and universities in the Greater Philadelphia region. Partner companies include: AmerisourceBergen, Aramark, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, ChristianaCare, Comcast, Drexel University, Independence Blue Cross, Jefferson Health, Macquarie Group, Penn Medicine, and University of Pennsylvania. For more information, visit http://www.ceocouncilforgrowth.com.