CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Novant Health is expanding its ability to deliver lifesaving transplant and immunologically based care with the creation of the Novant Health Weisiger Cellular and Immunotherapy Lab, a new facility that will process and preserve cellular therapy products used in peripheral blood stem cell transplants and other cellular- and immunologic-based therapies.
The 2,000-square-foot lab is a $4 million investment and will support patients receiving treatment through the Novant Health Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Immunotherapy Program. The project was made possible through the generosity of Agnes B. and Edward I. Weisiger Sr.
“For patients facing life-threatening cancers and blood disorders, timing, precision, and a personalized patient centered care plan matter. This lab gives our teams the ability to develop specialized immune effector cell therapies and deliver highly specialized care with greater coordination and control,” said Dr. David Rizzieri, physician in chief of the Novant Health Cancer Institute. “This lab serves our Novant Health patients around the entire state and also supports the next generation of cellular therapies and helps ensure more patients have access to innovative, world-class care when and where they need it most.”
Cellular therapies, including peripheral blood stem cell transplants, rely on specialized laboratory processes. After cells are collected from a donor or patient, they must be carefully processed, counted and preserved before being infused into the recipient. In the new lab, specialists can process cellular products, develop new patient-specific immune-based therapies, and cryopreserve them through a controlled freezing process that protects the cells until they are ready for transplant.
The lab will support patients throughout the state with care delivered at our two FACT accredited programs at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte and Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem. The Novant Health Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Immunotherapy Program has served patients across the region since 2018.
This content is sourced from
UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center
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