Next generation CAR T-cell therapy offers new hope for people with aggressive blood cancer
United Kingdom
Today, (November 25th) NHS England announced a new personalised CAR T-cell therapy, obe-cel, available within weeks for adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-cell ALL).
B-cell ALL is an aggressive form of blood cancer that progresses quickly and remains one of the most challenging to treat.
The treatment will be available in England to people aged 26 and over with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia which has returned or not responded to previous treatment.
Obe-cel is a “living medicine”, where a patient’s own immune cells are re-engineered to recognise and attack cancer cells before being returned to the body.
In clinical trials, 77% of people saw their cancer go into remission, with many remaining free from detectable disease years later.
Importantly, the therapy has shown lower toxicity than existing CAR T-cell therapy options, meaning fewer severe side effects and a safer experience for those going through treatment.
Tracey Loftis, Deputy Director of Policy at Blood Cancer UK, said:
“This is an important step forward for people affected by this fast-moving blood cancer. Innovative treatments like obe-cel show what’s possible when researchers, drug developers and the NHS work together to deliver cutting edge treatments to people. It’s vital that people with blood cancer are able to access these treatments and we look forward to the drug being submitted to the SMC in Scotland as soon as possible.”
Eligible patients will receive two doses of the therapy intravenously, ten days apart, with the treatment being delivered at selected specialist centres across the country. It is estimated that is could be administered to around 50 people each year in England.
It was academic CAR T-cell research at UCL supported by translational funding that eventually led to the creation of Autolus, the company behind obe-cel. This bench-to-clinic journey shows just how important charities like Blood Cancer UK are in helping drive forward the development of new treatments for people with disease.
Health boards in England have 90 days to make this medicine available to patients. Wales and Northern Ireland usually follow NICE’s recommendation and make this available, but this can take longer than in England. In Scotland, there is a separate approval process for medicines, which the drug company Autolus is yet to submit to.
