Carlo Scala, PhD

Carlo Scala, PhD, is Director of the Process Development and Innovation groups at ViroCell Biologics.

After studying Biotechnology for Human Health at the University of Siena (Italy), he worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Immunology at King’s College London (KCL), Guy’s Hospital, looking at protein-protein interactions in HIV infection.

At KCL under the supervision of Professor Charles Kelly, Carlo earned his PhD in further investigating the mechanisms of glycoprotein-mediated HIV infection. After a short post-doc stint in Professor Kelly’s lab, he moved to Professor Farzaneh’s R&D group, where he worked on improving process development for lentiviral vectors.

Carlo left to work as a Clinical Application Specialist for Miltenyi Biotec, where he gained practical and theoretical knowledge on automated and semi-automated technology and processes for cell therapy products. A year later, he met Professor Farzaneh at a conference, who, knowing his enduring passion for process development, offered him a position as Senior Scientist. Carlo’s focus is on improving lentivirus productivity to reduce costs and increase the number of patients that can be treated.

At ViroCell Biologics, he oversees both the Process Development and Innovation teams. As of January 2024, he directs a third team called Pre-Clinical Projects (PCP). The PCP team has a crucial strategic role in the company, responsible for ascertaining project feasibility and timing, as well as producing viral vectors. These vectors are required specifically for clients’ critical pre-clinical and Research & Development activities.