India launches world’s most affordable gene therapy for cancer treatment
Developed by Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (Mumbai), CAR-T cell therapy is likely to bring down costs by 90% for lakhs of patients in India and across the world
President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, with team during the launch of the India’s first home-grown gene therapy for cancer at IIT Bombay, in Maharashtra on 4 April 2024.
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, launched India’s first home-grown and significantly low-cost gene therapy cancer treatment at IIT Bombay on 4 April 2024.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer accounted for about 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths. In India, 14.6 lakh (1.4 million) patients died due to cancer in 2022, which is likely to increase to 15.7 lakh by 2025.
Most common cancers are breast, lung, colon and rectum and prostate cancers. About one-third of deaths from cancer are due to tobacco use, high body mass index, alcohol consumption, low fruit and vegetable intake, and lack of physical activity.
While most cancers can be cured if detected early, chemo and other therapies are often costly, time-consuming and painful. Costs running for years often devastates entire families.
In this light, India’s CAR-T cell (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy offers new help. It has been developed by IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital in association with industry partner ImmunoACT – a start-up founded by former students of IIT Bombay. Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai has been the one-stop address for lakhs of cancer patients in India for over four decades, and it is an overwhelming experience to see patients struggle there.
CAR-T cell therapy or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy and gene therapy. It requires complex genetic engineering to modify the patient’s immune cells, especially T cells, and enable them to fight cancer.
Researchers claim the new CAR-T cell therapy developed in India would be accessible and affordable compared to chemotherapy and other treatments for cancer. This would help lakhs of Indians who cannot go to the US and other countries (or even to Tata Memorial in Mumbai) for treatment owing to lack of resources.
During the launch, President Murmu said that while CAR-T cell therapy has been available in developed nations, it is extremely costly and beyond the reach of most patients around the world.
“What is new about the therapy being launched today, as I understand it, is that it costs 90% less than what is available elsewhere. I am told that this is the world’s most affordable CAR-T cell therapy,” she said, adding, “It will be successful in giving new lives to countless patients.”
This therapy is planned to be made available across the country in major cancer hospitals, and could be taken to patients across the world in future.
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