Cell and gene therapies have a profound impact on the immune system or the genome. They require more than a single specialized department: manufacturing, regulatory development, clinical trial conduct, toxicity management, and follow-up care must all work in tandem. At LMU Medical Center, clinics and institutes from more than fifteen specialties collaborate within a single center—ranging from hematology, oncology, and rheumatology to ophthalmology, transfusion medicine, and critical care medicine.
This breadth is the reason for the center’s establishment. Cell and gene therapies are no longer limited to oncology but now address various autoimmune, neurological, and hereditary diseases. We have been treating patients with CAR-T cells since 2019; and in the fall of 2026, we will add gene therapy for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease. In the field of research on treatment-related toxicity, the center ranks among the world’s leading institutions, with findings that have been incorporated into national and international guidelines.
The center sees itself as an enabler and a hub. We treat patients, we conduct research, and we open our facilities to academic research groups, clinics, biotechnology companies, and industrial partners who wish to advance cell and gene therapies into clinical trials—in both academically initiated and industry-sponsored studies. Embedded in Munich’s research and biotechnology ecosystem and networked within the Bavarian Center for Cancer Research and the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research, the center combines excellent basic research, cutting-edge clinical medicine, and translational development expertise into a platform for the development of safe, precise, and clinically viable cell and gene therapy products.
