Presenting Kuopio Health members: KCT has expertise in cell and gene therapy as well as in technology platforms
“Many companies would be sure to benefit if Kuopio Health could produce different properly thought-out partnership agreement models. This could save companies a lot of time and effort spent on legal matters.”
Expert company in gene and cell therapy has set its sights on the world
Kuopio Center for Gene and Cell Therapy (KCT) is a research and development company specialised in cell and gene therapy. The company is developing new medications related to gene and cell therapy, primarily targeting cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
The company’s background is in serving as a research department for Finvector, a company that has been manufacturing gene and viral-based medical products for several decades. KCT was incorporated in 2017 and currently employs slightly over 40 people and its annual turnover is between EUR 5 and 6 million.
The company aims at developing new forms of treatment. During its first years of operation, KCT has focused on developing its activities, but the company now aims to expand its operations by seeking external partners representing academia or large pharmaceutical companies.
– Finland does not have that many potential partners, which means that we are mostly focusing our efforts outside Finland’s borders. On the other hand, some potential partners are also found at the local level and among Kuopio Health’s members. We are also exploring possibilities for collaboration with them, says Auli Harvima-Tiilikainen, the company’s managing director.
Aiming at growth together
KCT is one of the founding members of the open Kuopio Health innovation ecosystem.
– I think the establishment agreement puts it really well why this collective has been founded in the first place. Close interactions between companies, research institutions, the public sector and consumers is exactly what we also want, Auli Harvima-Tiilikainen says.
As a result of the incorporation, KCT has grown its scope of operation and wishes to expand its business through collaboration. Harvima-Tiilikainen estimates that the company is heading to the same direction as Kuopio Health as a whole.
– This is a great match with our goals. Both of us have reached the point in our growth that it is now the time to launch close collaboration for improving visibility.
She considers that the other members of Kuopio Health can benefit from the technology platforms developed by KCT and the company’s expertise in cell and gene therapy.
– I believe that an active and interactive community is a good goal. As a professional in finances, I think there is a lot to gain from different forums where information flows freely and confidently.
Harvima-Tiilikainen also finds the Kuopio Health’s one-stop shop service important as focusing information and partners to one place makes it easy to access them.
Background support for contract issues
While confidential cooperation is Auli Harvima-Tiilikainen’s primary wish for the innovation ecosystem, she also has concrete suggestions for the Kuopio Health activities. Auli Harvima-Tiilikainen suggests that companies need support for the stumbling blocks they face in their day-to-day operations.
– Many companies would be sure to benefit if Kuopio Health could produce different, properly thought-out partnership agreement models. This could save companies a lot of time and effort spent on legal matters. This is a highly specialised industry where we need to take issues such as intellectual property rights into consideration, she points out.