CANBERRA, Dec. 19, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – A “revolutionary” cancer drug that
supercharges immune cells to hunt and kill cancer cells has been approved for
human use in Australia.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Wednesday announced that
CAR-T therapy has been approved for use in pediatric and young adult patients
with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and adults with
diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
CAR-T therapy trains immune cells to fight and kill cancer cells by first
extracting them from a patient’s body to genetically re-engineer them before
infusing them back into the body.
Prior to the TGA approving the treatment, patients with aggressive blood
cancers who had exhausted all other treatments had been traveling overseas to
be treated.
Daniel Clarke, 45, traveled with his family to the United States so he
could receive CAR-T treatment for his DLBCL. Within one month his cancer had
vanished.
“I felt like someone had just handed my life back to me,” he told Fairfax
Media on Wednesday.
“It has all happened so quickly. Late September we (went to Boston) not
knowing what to expect, hoping for the best, fearing the worst. Then come
November I was in complete remission.”
Global pharmaceutical giant Novartis owns the therapy and has already
increased production to keep up with global demand.
“We are focused on ramping up capacity at our U.S. and Switzerland
facilities and we recently announced a collaboration agreement for additional
manufacturing capacity with Fraunhofer (Germany) and CellforCure (France),”
spokesperson Lauren Carey said.
“These additional manufacturing facilities are intended to support
production on a global scale.”
However, CAR-T therapy is not classified as a “drug”, so it cannot be
subsidized by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Patients who undergo the treatment in Australia face an out-of-pocket cost
of up to 598,000 Australian dollars.
Greg Hunt, Australia’s Minister for Health, has flagged his intention to
have the treatment subsidized as soon as possible.