New ATMP Center Opens at Karolinska
Karolinska Inaugurates ATMP Center – Advancing the Future of Medicine
Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet have inaugurated the new Karolinska ATMP Center, where cutting-edge cell, gene, and tissue therapies are being developed to treat diseases previously considered incurable.
ATMP, short for Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products, represents a new era of personalized medicine. By modifying genes and cells, replacing them, or redirecting the immune system, researchers are creating treatments that can, for example, target and destroy cancer cells.
The center brings together research, clinical trials, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and patient treatment. “By gathering expertise across the entire chain, from groundbreaking ideas to innovative therapies, we can help more patients faster,” says Knut Steffensen, Director of the Karolinska ATMP Center.
The center is already playing a role in major international clinical trials and, through its manufacturing unit Vecura, has delivered advanced therapies to nearly 900 patients as well as to partners in eleven countries, including an HIV vaccine for use in Africa.
Hospital CEO Christophe Pedroletti highlighted the global reach of this work at the inauguration: “This is a day of hope, above all for our patients. But it is also a day of joy—for everyone who has worked so long on this, and because working together makes everything possible.”
Region Stockholm’s Regional Councilor for Finance, Aida Hadžialić, emphasized the wider significance: “The Karolinska ATMP Center will be a spearhead for groundbreaking research, modern healthcare, and innovative development. It represents a region that brings hope not only to Stockholm and Sweden, but to people around the world.”
The center will also support new therapies for rare diseases. Research led by Professor Thomas Sejersen in pediatric neurology is focused on neuromuscular diseases. His team is developing genetic diagnostics and innovative treatments, including early detection of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and novel approaches to gene therapy.
With strong partnerships across academia, healthcare, and industry, the Karolinska ATMP Center is positioned to drive the next generation of therapies from research to patient care—locally and globally.
Text: Ylva Hermansson.