CAS Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products 2025

Providing healthcare professionals with a thorough understanding of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) is essential to ensure the effective transition of innovative treatments and care techniques from the bench to the bedside.

Information

Period

Contact coordinator
16 ECTS credits
38 Teaching hours
84 Distance teaching hours

Language

English

Format

Blended learning

Contact

Michele GRACIOTTI
+41 (0)21 545 10 96
CAS.ATMP(at)unil.ch

Location

Lausanne

Registration

Contact coordinator

Fees:

CHF 6'000.-

Contribution to the SDGs

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Objectives

  • Discover therapeutic advances in standardized transplants, cell-based products, blood products, complex and personalized medicines and innovative drug combinations
  • Acquire specialized knowledge of the different innovative therapies and their interaction with biological tissues
  • Understand the good manufacturing practices (GMP) required for these new types of medicines
  • Develop skills in quality control, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs
  • Understand the determinants of clinical applications of ATMPs and combinatorial therapies

Audience

Healthcare professionals and scientists interested in the emerging field of advanced therapies, including pharmacists, physicians, medical researchers, biologists, healthcare engineers, biostatisticians.

Programme

7 modules :

  • Cellular therapy – from bench to bedside
  • Immunology
  • Transfusion medicine – science and technology from donor to patient
  • Combinatorial strategies in cancer treatment 
  • Oncology: innovative therapies
  • Phage therapy
  • Nanomedicines

Director(s)

Prof. Chantal CSAJKA, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva and Prof. Lana KANDALAFT, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne

Coordinator(s)

Dr. Michele GRACIOTTI, University of Lausanne

Diploma delivered jointly by

University of Geneva, University of Lausanne
Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) such as cell therapy, tissue-engineered medicine or immunotherapy, as well as innovative medicines like phage therapy or nanomedicine, are pushing the boundaries of currently available treatments. Oncology, reconstructive surgery, orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, blood transfusion, infectious diseases – clinical applications are numerous.

Providing healthcare professionals with a thorough understanding of these therapeutic breakthroughs is essential to ensure the effective transition of these innovative treatments and care techniques from the bench to the bedside.

Speakers

Prof. Lana KANDALAFT and Dr. Jean-François BRUNET

Description

  • Principles of translational science
    Cell biology / Preclinical relevance and evaluation / Biological products specificities
  • Types of cellular therapy
    Sources of cells / Clinical targets / Clinical strategies / Histocompatibility
  • Clinical trials of cellular therapy
    Examples of human applications: burn patients, orthopedics, neuroscience
  • Regulatory aspects of cellular therapy
    Basis in EU and Switzerland for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Clinical Practices (GCP) & ATMPs specificities
  • Production of cellular therapy
    GMP / Clean room / Manufacturing technologies / T cells
  • Visit of a GMP cellular manufacturing facility

Speakers

Prof. Alexandre HARARI

Description

  • Introduction to immunology
    Organs, tissues, functions of the immune system / Innate & adaptive immunity
  • Analytical immunology
    Overview / Biomarkers / Immune correlates
  • Limitations of immunotherapies
    Tolerance and autoimmunity / Toxicity /Side effects

Speakers

Prof. Michel PRUDENT

Description

  • Introduction to transfusion medicine
    Historical developments / Transfusion chain / Blood groups / Immunohematology / Transfusion-related risks
  • Biology and biochemistry of blood products
    Red blood cells and platelets / Fresh frozen Plasma
  • Medical aspects
    Needs and use of blood products / Apheresis / Hematopoietic stem cells / Clinical cases and practices
  • Production and regulatory aspects
    Blood & special products preparation and manufacturing / Regulations and GMP
  • Visits of production site and diagnostic labs

Speakers

Prof. Patrycja NOWAK-SLIWINSKA

Description

  • Combination therapy
    Advantages vs. monotherapy / Combinations strategies in various cancer types / Anti-angiogenic immunotherapy / Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics / Drug resistance principles / Cell death in cancer therapy
  • Preclinical development
    Drug repurposing / Drug interactions and synergies / Immunotargeting / Cell mitosis
  • Clinical development
    Clinical trial development / Successful clinical trials examples / New combination strategies for cancer treatment design
  • Visit of research laboratories of cell biology and pharmacology

Speakers

Dr. Francesco CEPPI

Description

  • Immunotherapy
    Cellular and drug immunotherapies / Checkpoint inhibitors / Monoclonal antibodies
  • Personalized cellular immunotherapy
    Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell / Vaccines / HSCT / Personalized medicine

Speakers

Dr. Grégory RESCH

Description

  • Introduction to phage therapy
    Antibiotic resistance / Bacteriophages / History of phage discovery & phage therapy
  • Phage banks and production
    Personalized phage therapy / Phages production processes
  • Phage-based pharmaceutical products regulations
    Regulation challenges / GMP Basics
  • Modern translational studies and clinical studies
    Phage-antibiotic synergism / Human applications
  • Practical course
    Bacteriophage isolation from the environment

Speakers

Prof. Gerrit BORCHARD

Description

  • Introduction to nanomedicines
    Nanomedicines types / Nanotechnology applications to drug therapies and vaccines / Pharmacokinetics & pharmacodynamics
  • Nanomedicines technology
    Physiochemical properties biocompatibility / Nanoformulations / Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs)
  • Production and regulatory aspects
    FDA and EMA regulations / The many challenges of nanomedicines development, production and clinical practices

Diploma awarded

The Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products delivered by the universities of Lausanne and Geneva.

Admission criteria

  • Hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a Swiss or foreign university (HEU), from a University of Applied Sciences (HES), or hold another title deemed equivalent by the Steering Committee, and
  • Have a minimum of 1 year of professional experience in the health care field

Steering committee

  • Prof. Chantal CSAJKA, Full professor, Director of the Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNIGE
  • Prof. Lana KANDALAFT, Chief of Service – Center of Experimental Therapeutics, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL ; Associate Director for Clinical Translation – Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
  • Prof. Patrycja NOWAK-SLIWINSKA, Associate Professor, Head of the Molecular Pharmacology Group, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNIGE
  • Prof. Michel PRUDENT, Associate Professor, Head of Innovation and Therapeutic Products, Transfusion Interrégionale CRS SA; Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL
  • Dr Grégory RESCH, Senior Lecturer, Head of the Bacteriophage and Phage Therapy Laboratory, Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL

Scientific committee

  • Dr Grégory RESCH, Senior Lecturer, Head of the Bacteriophage and Phage Therapy Laboratory, Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL
  • Dr Jean-François BRUNET, Head of the Cell Manufacturing Center, Service of Pharmacy, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL
  • Prof. Lana KANDALAFT, Chief of Service – Center of Experimental Therapeutics, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL ; Associate Director for Clinical Translation – Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
  • Prof. Alexandre HARARI, Associate Professor, Head of the Tumor Immunology laboratory, Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL
  • Dr Francesco CEPPI, Lecturer and Medical Oncologist, Unit of Pediatric Oncology Hematology, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL
  • Prof. Patrycja NOWAK-SLIWINSKA, Associate Professor, Head of the Molecular Pharmacology Group, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNIGE
  • Prof. Michel PRUDENT, Associate Professor, Head of Innovation and Therapeutic Products, Transfusion Interrégionale CRS SA; Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and UNIL
  • Prof. Gerrit BORCHARD, Full Professor, Head of the Biopharmaceutics laboratory, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNIGE

Application File

Admission on file to submit to Formation Continue UNIL-EPFL. Please join to the registration form:

  • Letter of motivation
  • CV
  • Copies of diplomas obtained

Detailed fees

Payment in instalments possible.

Contribution to the SDGs

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation