First Patient 'Cancer-Free' After Using Indian CAR-T Cell Therapy
India's NexCAR19 CAR-T cell therapy achieves cancer-free status in first patient, offering hope for improved survival and remission rates in specific cancers.
Cancer is a deadly disease. It has been a major public health concern and is a growing burden in India. The latest data suggest that new cancer cases reached nearly 16 lakh in India in 2023. But a new ray of hope for defeating it has come to light. A few months ago, India’s drug regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), approved the commercial use of CAR-T cell therapy called NexCAR19 in October 2023. NexCAR19 is developed by a medical-technology company called ImmunoACT based in IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital. According to the doctors, the therapy focuses on treating the B-cell cancers - types of cancers that form in the immune system’s cells such as leukemia (blood cancer) and lymphoma (lymphatic organs like blood vessels, tissues etc.). The therapy involves genetically reprogramming the patient's white blood cells to attack cancer cells more strongly. During the therapy the white blood cells are taken from the patient and modified in the laboratory by introducing a special protein called a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR). The white blood cells are then reinfused in the patient. This CAR protein helps the white blood cells in recognising and fighting the cancer cells better. The first patient to use NexCAR 19 was a Delhi based Indian Army gastroenterologist - Dr. (Col.) V K Gupta. Dr. Gupta underwent the therapy at the Tata Memorial Hospital for just ?42 lakh or $50,000. A similar therapy costs up to ?4 crore or $480,000 abroad. Doctors at the Tata Memorial Hospital said that he is “currently free of cancer cells.” making him the first patient to have achieved this status using this Indian therapy. The doctors also said that while it is still early to tell about the success rate of the NexCAR 19 therapy, they claim that the initial results suggest “better survival chances and lower remission rates” for patients in the early stages of cancer. Currently, the NexCAR 19 therapy is available in over 30 hospitals in more than 10 cities in India. Patients aged above 15, who are suffering from B-cell cancers are eligible for the treatment. We hope that this therapy has a high success rate and maximum patients can be cancer-free through it.
