Indu is one of the first patients in India to receive the treatment, which involves re-engineering the patient’s own T immune cells. The eight-year-old is now cancer-free. She is part of a trial for an indigenously-developed CAR T cell therapy by Pune-based Immuneel Therapeutics. It is the first phase-2 clinical trial for leukemia and lymphoma patients who have exhausted other treatments.
Cost
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that uses modified T cells to target cancerous cells. The cells are transformed in the laboratory to recognize and kill cancerous cells. The therapy involves a short course of chemotherapy to weaken the patient’s existing immune system and give the modified cells more time to grow and attack. It is given in a hospital setting and requires the patient to be near the treatment facility for several weeks or more.
Currently, this treatment is available in the US, but it costs more than US $400,000 per person, including before and after care. Mukherjee said that his goal is to make this treatment affordable for Indian patients. He has partnered with biotech entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and 5AM Ventures managing partner Kush Paramar to co-found Immuneel Therapeutic Ltd, which aims to bring global quality CAR T-cell treatments to India at one-tenth the cost of US-based therapies.
Eligibility
Car t cell therapy in India is a treatment that involves changing the immune cells in your body to fight cancer. The modified T cells are then infused back into the patient’s bloodstream, and they attack and destroy cancerous cells. The therapy has shown promising results in early clinical trials. It has cured leukemia and lymphoma in some patients. It is a high-risk, experimental treatment, and most healthcare insurance companies don’t cover it.
During the procedure, doctors collect white blood cells from your body and then multiply them in the lab. They then add a receptor to the T cells, so they can target specific cancerous cells. This is called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. The new T cells are injected into the bloodstream in a process similar to a blood transfusion. Afterward, patients are given medications to prevent or control side effects. Some patients will need to stay in the hospital for weeks. Others will be able to return home.
Procedure
The treatment uses the body’s own T cells, which are a type of white blood cell that fights cancer. The T cells are modified in the laboratory by adding a gene that helps them target specific cancer antigens. Then, they are infused into the patient’s body. The T cells are injected into the patient’s blood through a central line, in a process similar to a regular blood transfusion. The cells are then allowed to grow and multiply. Depending on the patient’s condition, this can take several weeks. During this time, the patients may need to stay in the hospital or at home.
A new form of immunotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy has been shown to be effective in treating certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. It is a newer type of therapy and is still in clinical trial. Currently, it is only available in the US and India. In the future, it may be available in other countries.
Hospitals
A new way of providing advanced therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, is emerging. This decentralized model involves the use of point-of-care models in hospital networks, which leverage the existing research activities of academic centers of excellence and the unprecedented accessibility of automated cell labs. This approach also better supports pharmacovigilance, which is necessary for guaranteeing the ‘freshness’ of these treatments and can help to maintain reasonable prices for them.
CAR T-cell therapy uses genetically modified immune cells to fight cancer. These specially engineered cells bind to specific targets on cancer cells and kill them. The cells are then re-infused into the patient’s body and allowed to multiply and proliferate. CAR T-cell therapy has shown promising results for many patients with blood cancer. It can cure some leukemia and lymphoma patients that have relapsed or not responded to traditional treatment. It is also an excellent option for people who are physically unfit for a bone marrow transplant.
Final Word
Car t cell therapy in India is an immunotherapy treatment that involves modifying the patient’s immune cells to specifically target cancerous tumours. It is an effective and cutting-edge approach to treating leukemia and lymphoma, especially in patients whose disease has relapsed or refractory after two standard treatments.