BREXIT vote threatens to disrupt advances in gene and cell therapies in the UK

The recent BREXIT vote in the UK threatens to disrupt scientific progress and clinical advances in the development of innovative gene and cell therapies. Leading UK researchers have called for proactive solutions to ensure continued access to critical funding and ongoing collaborative opportunities with the broader scientific community in the European Union in an Editorial in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/).

In the article "Impact of BREXIT on UK Gene and Cell Therapy: The Need for Continued Pan-European Collaboration (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/hum.2016.29033.ahb)," coauthors Andrew Baker, University of Edinburgh, Robin Ali, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, and Adrian Thrasher, University College London, emphasize the need for a rapid response to alleviate the current uncertainty, which is "potentially harmful, for both building and maintaining scientific interactions," and "to avoid loss of momentum in a rapidly developing field."

The UK is a leading force in both the basic science and clinical translation of gene and cell therapies. Over the past years, the EU has invested substantially in broad-based consortia to drive advances in the field, and continued progress will depend on ongoing collaboration and mobility across national borders for research, training, and clinical studies.

"Gene therapy scientists live and work in the context of a broader society and may be affected by political changes beyond their control," says Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA. "Members of the British Society of Gene Therapy have been outspoken leaders in advocating for preserving the benefits of EU funding for the scientific community and for patients and families who benefit from their innovations. Human Gene Therapy is proud to provide a forum for this advocacy."