Command Hospital (Eastern Command) in Kolkata has successfully administered indigenously developed CAR-T cell therapy to a 39-year-old serving soldier suffering from relapsed/refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (B-cell ALL).
NexCAR19, India’s first indigenous CAR-T cell therapy, has been developed to provide more affordable and accessible immunotherapy for blood cancers, including leukaemia and lymphoma.
The therapy was developed through a collaboration involving IIT Bombay, Tata Memorial Centre and biotechnology start-up ImmunoACT.
CAR-T cell therapy works by reprogramming a patient’s own T-cells with Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs), enabling them to identify and destroy cancer cells expressing the CD19 protein.
NexCAR19 uses a humanised product configuration instead of murine, or mouse-derived, components, which is associated with a lower risk of severe neurological side effects.
The treatment involves collecting T-cells from the patient, genetically modifying them with CARs and reinfusing the engineered cells into the body. The modified cells then identify and attack cancer cells.
CAR-T cell therapy is considered an important treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory blood cancers who have exhausted conventional treatment options.
NexCAR19 is also among the more affordable CAR-T therapies globally, costing approximately one-tenth of comparable treatments available in Western countries. Command Hospitals across India are among the institutions authorised to administer the therapy.
Describing the development as a “landmark achievement”, the Eastern Command said in a post on X that it reflected “clinical excellence, innovation and commitment to delivering cutting-edge, patient-centric healthcare to the Indian Armed Forces”.
The development also underscores the Army’s efforts to adopt advanced medical technologies for serving personnel and their dependants.
In September, Command Hospital (Western Command) in Chandimandir administered its first CAR-T cell therapy to a 16-year-old patient suffering from B-cell ALL.