After approval of more than a year by the drug regulator of India, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai have published the clinical test data of India’s first indigenous car -ie cell therapy.

It was approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in October 2013 as an affordable cell and gene therapy for the treatment of cancer.

What is Car-t cell therapy?

Car-t cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer in which the patient’s immune cells or T cells are modified to kill cancer cells. The car is low for the cimely antigen receptor.

This process involves the removal of T cells, a type of immune system cell from the blood of the cancer patient. These T cells are modified to identify and kill cancer cells.

Engineer cells are then produced extensively and get back to the patient’s blood and get to work.

“The car is a receptor on the T cell surface. It contains many domains. When modified CAR-T cells come in contact with cancer cells, cancer cells express an antigen. We modify car-T cells against that antigen. T cells bind the antigens, signal and then kill cancer cells, which are the cancer cells, which are the first associated.

More about studies

Therapy was tested on patients with B -cell leukemia and lymphoma – rare type of blood cancer – which affect the bone marrow and lymph system.

Like normal T cells, CAR-T cells remain in the body for a long time, which also helps prevent relaxes.

Studies published in Lancet Hematology have shown that in clinical trials, injections had a 73% response rate in Indian patients.

Researchers highlighted that in lower and medium-oriented countries, many patients have to struggle with related (returning) or treatment-resistant B-cell tumor conflict as effective treatments are not widely available.

B-cells are a type of white blood cell that helps in fighting the body. When cancer affects them, it can be difficult to treat.

“This is the first gene therapy for India’s cancer, and it offers new hope to patients,” IIT-Bombay’s Pro. Rahul Purwar said, who helped develop treatment.

Unlike traditional cancer remedies, car T-cells remain in the body for a long time and help prevent cancer from returning, Dr. of Tata Memorial Hospital. Hasmukh Jain explained.

Another important benefit is the ability.

In countries such as America, similar treatments cost between $ 3,73,000 to $ 4,75,000 (about Rs 3-4 crore), and the total cost including care can exceed $ 1 million (Rs 8 crore).

In comparison, the Indian version of therapy is available only for $ 30,000 (Rs 25 lakh), which is tenth of the price of other global remedies.

How was Indian-made car-T cell therapy developed?

Treatment, called Talicabtagne Autoleucel, or Nexcar19, was developed in 11 years through research, laboratory tests and patient tests.

Clinical trials in India were conducted in two stages:

• phase 1: 14 patients or patients with treatment-resistant B-cell lymphoma received therapy.
• phase 2: 50 patients with B-cell leukemia or B-cell lymphoma were treated.

The specific age of patients was 44 years, with 49 men and 15 women participating.

Among the 51 patients studied, 73% responded well for treatment. However, two treatment-related deaths occurred, and some patients experienced side effects such as low white blood cell count (neutropenia), low platelet count (thrombocytopenia), and anemia (low capacity of oxygen carrying oxygen).

Despite these challenges, researchers concluded that therapy is safe and provides long -term benefits to patients in India.

Dr. Dwivedi had said that Nexcar19 has added human protein to its mouse antibodies. Lab tests showed that this change remains effective against tumors, but reduces the production of cytokines (proteins that cause signs in the immune system).

What will happen next?

Dr. Jain said that the next step is to test this therapy in the first stages of cancer and combines it with other treatments to improve the results. These new tests are already running at the Tata Memorial Center.

This success provides hope for thousands of patients in India, who previously had limited treatment options for aggressive blood cancer.

(With input from PTI)