Background

The rapid developments in Advanced Therapies, the prevalence of polypharmacy and the increasing treatment complexities, such as the recent approval of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapies as advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), require skilled clinical pharmacists with specialist haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) knowledge and experience, to ensure provision of safe and effective pharmaceutical care in this high-risk patient population.

The role of the clinical pharmacist

The role of the clinical pharmacist as an integral member of the HSCT multidisciplinary team is well-established by the FACT-JACIE (Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy Joint  Accreditation Committee of ISCT-Europe and EBMT) standards. Pharmacists are well positioned to provide a range of clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation services and take leadership in staff and patient education, service design and the development and implementation of treatment guidelines.

The CAR-T passport

This passport was designed and produced by the UK BMT Pharmacist Forum with the aim of providing a standardised and consistent approach to documenting core training for clinical pharmacists involved in the care of patients receiving HSCT and CAR-T cell therapies. The Pan UK PWG Clinical Pharmacy subgroup contributed to the CAR-T section of this passport.

Link to the passport

The passport can be found on the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) website.

Additional Information

For further information or to request a hard copy of the passport please contact Nick Duncan, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

For further information on the Pan UK PWG for ATMPs contact Anne Black.