Using CAR-T cells manufactured in India, the patient was pronounced cancer-free. Recognize what it is
With the recent approval of CAR-T cell therapy, an indigenous cancer treatment developed in India, for commercial use by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), a patient has become the first to be cured.
It is well known that the Indian treatment genetically rewires a patient’s immune system to combat cancer. This treatment would have ordinarily cost Dr (Col) VK Gupta, a gastroenterologist in Delhi, Rs 4 crore overseas, but he was able to pay only Rs 42 lakh for it.
CAR-T cell therapy: what is it?
One kind of immunotherapy called CAR-T cell treatment involves genetically modifying a patient’s T cells to target cancer cells. One subset of white blood cells called T cells aids the body in the battle against infection.
T cells from the patient are removed for CAR-T cell treatment, and they are altered in the lab to express a unique protein known as a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). The patient receives it again because the CAR protein aids the T cells in identifying and combating the cancer cells.
Native CAR-T cell treatment in India
NexCAR19 is the first CAR-T cell treatment produced in India, and its commercial usage was certified by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in October 2023.
ImmunoACT, a business based at Tata Memorial Hospital and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), is the developer of NexCAR19.
It is intended to treat lymphoma and leukemia, two types of B-cell malignancy.
In more than ten Indian cities and more than thirty hospitals, the treatment is being offered. Individuals with B-cell malignancies who are older than 15 years old are eligible for therapy.
THE HISTORY OF NXCAR19
In India, the prevalence of cancer is rising and has long been a serious public health issue. According to the most recent projections, there will be close to 1.6 million new cancer diagnoses in the nation in 2023.
New cancer therapies have been developed despite the fact that cancer cases are widespread across the nation. These therapies are still unavailable, however. One cancer treatment that has significant side effects and is still very costly and unavailable is CAR-T cell therapy.
A more human-like antibody was carried by CAR-T cells when Dr. Alka Dwivedi and her colleagues attempted to alter the cells in 2015. They created NexCAR19, an indigenous CAR-T cell treatment from India that has shown promise in treating blood malignancies including lymphoma and leukemia.
In addition to being reasonably priced, NexCAR19 satisfies patient demands within the Indian healthcare system.
