Home / Science / India's Breakthrough: Affordable CAR-T Cancer Therapy
India's Breakthrough: Affordable CAR-T Cancer Therapy
15 Jun
Summary
- New CAR-T therapy creates immune memory to prevent cancer relapse.
- Novel 'off-the-shelf' CAR-T therapy aims to reduce costs significantly.
- Indian researchers developing cost-effective and innovative cancer treatments.
Cancer incidence is rising, driving Indian researchers to develop accessible CAR-T cell therapies. Cellogen Therapeutics is initiating human trials for a novel CAR-T therapy at Christian Medical College-Vellore. This therapy engineers a patient's T cells to not only fight existing cancer but also create lasting immune memory, preventing future relapse.
This innovative approach, holding Indian and provisional US patents, functions similarly to vaccines by preparing the immune system for recurrence. Researchers are also pursuing "off-the-shelf" CAR-T therapies, which would bypass individual patient customization, potentially lowering costs significantly from the current Rs 40 lakh or Rs 20 lakh for approved treatments.
Dr. Gaurav Kharya, a co-founder, highlighted the need for accessible treatments in India. His team's work focuses on overcoming the limitations of first-generation CAR-T therapies, which had limited persistence. Second-generation therapies, like Cellogen's, aim for T cells to replicate within the body, enhancing duration of remission.
The upcoming clinical trials will involve patients with acute leukaemia and lymphoma. Cellogen is also developing in-vivo CAR-T therapies, delivering genetic instructions instead of modified cells, which could further reduce costs to around Rs 8 lakh. This method holds promise for treating solid tumors, a significant challenge in cancer therapy.
