b'GATES BIOMANUFACTURING FACILITY (FITZSIMONS INNOVATION COMMUNITY, AURORA)The Gates Biomanufacturing Facility (GBF),modify a patients skin cells, which are then opened in April 2015, is one of the few customgrown into grafts and transplanted back to Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facili- the patient. ties located on a major academic researchThe grant really got Dr. Rupp going. Our and clinical campus in the western Unitedfacility is a case study on what the infra-States with the capacity to manufacture bothstructure grant was all about, says Matthew protein- and cell-based therapies. A part- Seefeldt, Ph.D., GBFs Executive Director. GBF nership among the Gates Center, Universitystarted with about 10 to 12 researchers, and of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus,we are now a 45-person organization with University of Colorado School of Medicine,a goal of translating therapies both at the Childrens Hospital Colorado, University ofUniversity of Colorado as well as in the state Colorado Health, and the Gates Frontiersof Colorado. Fund, the GBFs mission is to accelerate medical breakthroughs and commercialize them.More state support came in 2019, when GBF received a $150,000 Advanced Industries Groundbreaking research requires significantCollaborative Infrastructure Grant to support funding to eventually save or change patient lives.Thankfully, GBF had help from tworesearch into Tumor Infiltrating LymphocytesOUR FACILITY IS (TIL) and upgrade GBFs infrastructure to state grants. The first was a 2015 Advanced Industries Collaborative Infrastructure GrantqualifyascustomGoodManufacturingA CASE STUDY Practice (cGMP) facility. to support the work of Dennis Roop, Ph.D., the centers Director as well as a ProfessorIn return, GBF has proven more than worthyON WHAT THE ofDermatologyatCUAnschutz.Roopof state investment, generating $5 to $7 was working on new gene therapies formillion in revenue annually.INFRASTRUCTURE Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a disease thatWe have a little niche where we really help, causes severe skin blistering and scarringand I think thats a significant value-add toGRANT WAS with just the slightest touch. Children bornthe Colorado infrastructure, Seefeldt says, with EB rarely live beyond age 20. adding that the GBF and the state grantALL ABOUT.Armed with the GBFs research resourcesprogram have a similar goal, which is toMATTHEW SEEFELDT, PH.D.make sure that we have a bed that is there for and the grant money, Roop developed aEXECUTIVE DIRECTORtreatment using CRISPR-cas9 gene editing tosome of these early-stage startups to nest.GATES BIOMANUFACTURING FACILITYState funds supported the Gates Biomanufacturing Facilitys work to qualify as a Custom Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facility. 10 BIOSCIENCECOLORADO 2021-2022'