From the 2nd European CAR T-cell Meeting in Sitges, Spain, Manel Juan Otero, MD, PhD, Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, discusses the role of academia and industry in the manufacturing of CAR T-cells and how they can coexist and move forward together. Dr Juan Otero believes that in the future to have CAR T-cell therapy available for patients the commercial and academic approaches will have to be combined.