A Discount on the Cost of Cancer: India's Homegrown CAR-T Cell Therapy.

Abstract

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has revolutionized the treatment of blood cancer. By improving survival outcomes for patients with B-cell malignancies, which hitherto have been unparalleled by conventional chemotherapy, CAR-T therapy is a beacon of hope for many patients with cancer. However, harvesting, modifying, and reintroducing T cells is costly, which means that not every patient with cancer who needs CAR-T therapy has the financial capacity to receive it. This blatant economic disparity, combined with geographical limitations, for several lower-middle-income countries that do not manufacture CAR-T therapy, has been a problem that has widened the socioeconomic gap between patients with cancer. This was the case until India recently manufactured its own CAR-T therapy. As a lower-middle-income country with a massive burden of cancer, India's NexCAR19 was a pivotal point in South Asian cancer history. From benefiting local patients with cancer to collaborations with neighboring countries, to prompting the manufacture of more CAR-T products, NexCAR19 has facilitated the fight against blood cancers in South Asia.