Establishing Commercial AAV Manufacturing in the UK

A UK biotech company is building a factory inside a laboratory to manufacture gene therapies that could halt blindness. NightstaRx, working with the Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult, aims to create a commercial-scale manufacturing process for a treatment targeting retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disease that destroys light-sensitive cells in the retina. Currently, producing these viral-based therapies at the scale needed for late-stage clinical trials and eventual patient supply remains a major bottleneck. Without reliable, high-quality manufacturing, promising gene therapies never reach the people who need them. If this project succeeds, it will establish a reproducible, accredited production line for one specific treatment—but the real payoff is broader. The same manufacturing platform could be adapted for other viral gene therapies, making future treatments faster and cheaper to produce. This would position the UK as a global leader in commercial gene therapy manufacturing, create skilled jobs, and strengthen the country’s biotechnology supply chain. For patients, the concrete outcome is a therapy that could preserve sight and independence, rather than watching vision fade.