CBE Centennial Seminar Series: Patrick Bastek (Novartis)

The Wild and Wonderful World of Viruses and Cell and Gene Therapy

The biopharmaceutical space is vast and has unlimited potential for those willing to explore it. Both conscious choices and happenstance have shaped my career, ranging from traditional monoclonal antibodies to less explored and settled fields. Operating in these spaces presents tremendous challenges, risks, and opportunities. Advancing any product to market requires a huge effort and a bit of luck. Within process and analytical development, we can influence the chances of technical success for a program. In advanced therapies, we can also have a significant impact on a product’s opportunity for commercial success. This talk will cover my experiences in the field and reflections on what I’ve learned (often the hard way), as well as the promise and challenges of the field of cell and gene therapy.

Biography

Patrick Bastek has contributed and led team in biopharmaceuticals, vaccines and cell and gene therapies in technical development, manufacturing support, and portfolio management. He currently leads the Novartis Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Technical R&D (TRD) team responsible for the process, product, and analytical development for cell and gene therapies. He has worked at Novartis twice, first leading the transfer and next generation process development for a novel cell culture flu vaccine, and then rejoining in November 2021 to lead CGT development. Between his two stints at Novartis, he worked at Pfizer as the Executive Director Medicinal Sciences for Rare Diseases and the Senior Director for Gene Therapy Process Development, leading the development of manufacturing processes and technologies for AAV gene therapies, including three programs that went into pivotal studies. He also held previous roles at Abbott, Wyeth, and Dendreon in process development, scale-up, and contract manufacturing, contributing and leading development, manufacturing, and approval for multiple products. He has a Bachelor’s and Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and North Carolina State University, respectively, and is based in North Carolina.