3 ms·
CAR-T treatments are expensive because they’re individualized. The process has to be repeated per-individual. That’s completely different from lab-meat.
by dado3212 2y ago
CAR-T treatments are expensive because they’re individualized. The process has to be repeated per-individual. That’s completely different from lab-meat.
- benzible 2y agoI was responding to the parent poster's assertion that the only area worth focusing on in pharma is drug discovery, but you're right that CAR-T is very different. Monoclonal antibodies are a more apt analog. Key economic drivers in monoclonal antibody production include fermentation titer and overall yield, as highlighted in the article "Process economics of industrial monoclonal antibody manufacture" from ScienceDirect [0]. These same factors—cell density and yield—are also critical for lab-grown meat production. The persistence of process-related challenges in both industries, despite significant financial motivation to solve them, underscores their complexity. This relates back to the "fractal no" concept from the original article, where each obstacle in cultured meat production is composed of many smaller obstacles. Importantly, monoclonal antibodies can sell for thousands of dollars per gram, orders of magnitude more than meat, yet even with this immense profit incentive, the pharmaceutical industry hasn't solved these bioprocessing issues. This suggests that cultured meat production, with its much lower profit margins, faces an overwhelming set of challenges, [0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1570023206006337 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S15700...