Lymphocytes;
Hospitals;
Oncology;
Immunotherapy;
Cancer therapies;
Pediatrics

Why CAR-T cell therapy is new frontier in cancer care [Times Nation]: IIT-Bombay And Tata Memorial Centre Collaborated To Devise This Treatment Indigenously, Ensuring Its Availability At A 10th Of US Price

What Is CART Cell Therapy Its a cell therapy in which a part of the bodys immune system T cells are primed to target; destroy cancer cells see box Scientists focused on T cells because they are genetically programmed to attack foreign particles; with bioengineering they can become more precise; potent warriors CART cells belong to a branch of oncology therapeutics called immunotherapy which is now hailed as the fifth pillar of cancer therapy after surgery chemotherapy radiation; targeted therapyWhat Is NexCAR19 Even as CART cell therapy or living drug as it is also called started showing promise in the last decade there have been concerns about its price tag Rs 3 crore4 crore in the US market Enter a collaboration between two of Indias bestknown academic institutes IIT Bombay; Tata Memo rial Centre to devise the first indigenous CART cell therapy at a tenth of the US price tag Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation granted market authorisation for NexCAR19 to ImmunoACT a company incubated by IIT Bombay in November 2023 leading to the buzzWhile the local price of around Rs 40 lakh is high for most Indians public institutes such as Tata Memorial Hospital which works under Department of Atomic Energy are likely to subsidise the cost for adults; provide it free for paediatric patients CART cells are not the first line of treatment so far; not for all blood cancer patients but doctors believe costs will reduce when demand increasesHomegrown But SafeDr Gaurav Narula professor paediatric oncology associated with the CART cell project since its launch in 2017 is in Spain now to present the findings of phase 2 of the clinical trial conducted on chil dren We have got 100 response from most of our patients with a high degree of safety None of the patients had severe reactions; those who had mild to moderate reactions could be easily managed he said With such data the paediatric variant should also be commercially available soonEven the trial among adults which led to the first permission for commercial use in November 2023 at Tata Memorial Hospital had encouraging results According to trial results presented in December 2023 at the American Society of Hematology meeting held in San Diego 67 of patients 36 out of 53 in two trials had a notable decrease in the extent of their cancer with the cancer disappearing altogether in about halfComplication rates with CART cells in Western studies are between 30; 40 while the Mumbai trials have registered low rates Our patients didnt need ICU ad missions or develop neurotoxicity reported in Western studies said Dr NarulaFuture Of CART CellsWhile Emily Whitehead first child to get CART cells is cancerfree after 12 years experts point out the success rate with this form of immunotherapy is roughly 50 Despite the high costs involved it doesnt come with a 100 guarantee much like many treatment regimens in medicine Work is on to improve this strike rate while CART cells are being explored as treatment for other cancers; conditions Across the world lab studies are being conducted to test CART cells for treatment of cancers of breast ovaries colon pancreas prostate; glioblastoma brain among others With new tech tools such as CRISPR Cas9 gene editing; artificial intelligence doctors expect wider applicability of CART cells in treatment of noncancerous heart; lung diseases

The Times of India (Online); New Delhi

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