Advanced Therapies Wales have now published Enabling Advanced Therapies in NHS Wales: A National Review of Pharmacy Aseptic Service Readiness for ATMPs, a national assessment of the readiness of NHS Wales pharmacy aseptic services to support the delivery of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), including emerging in vivo gene therapies.

The review recognises the critical role that pharmacy aseptic services play in enabling patient access to advanced therapies and highlights the strong foundations already in place across NHS Wales, including established quality systems, specialist expertise and growing experience in ATMP delivery.

The report makes 23 recommendations aimed at strengthening preparedness across health boards and NHS trusts in Wales. These cover key areas including workforce development, training, estates and infrastructure, clinical governance, strategic planning and pharmacy involvement in treatment pathway design.

Directors of Pharmacy are being asked to review the recommendations and develop local action plans to support implementation within their organisations. Advanced Therapies Wales will work with NHS organisations to review plans, identify common themes, monitor progress and provide support where appropriate, helping to build a coordinated and consistent approach to ATMP delivery across Wales.

The review was led by Owain Jones and developed with contributions from pharmacy aseptic service leads across Wales, their teams and members of the review steering group. The publication marks an important step towards coordinated system readiness, helping ensure patients across Wales can benefit from timely and equitable access to advanced therapies as they become available.

The report has been jointly endorsed by Andrew Evans OBE FRCPharm, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Welsh Government, and Carl James, Senior Responsible Officer for Advanced Therapies Wales and Chief Executive Officer of Velindre University NHS Trust.

The report has been jointly endorsed by Andrew Evans OBE FRCPharm, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Welsh Government, and Carl James, Senior Responsible Officer for Advanced Therapies Wales and Chief Executive Officer of Velindre University NHS Trust.

Read the full report: Enabling Advanced Therapies in NHS Wales: A National Review of Pharmacy Aseptic Service Readiness for ATMPs.