Amrita Hospital unveils North India’s first Centre of Excellence for CAR T-Cell Therapy

New Delhi: Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, has launched the region’s first Centre of Excellence for CAR T-Cell Therapy in Northern India. This new centre, designed to offer cutting-edge treatments for specific blood cancers such as B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, is set to revolutionize cancer care for patients in the National Capital Region (NCR).

CAR T-Cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that involves genetically modifying T-cells to target and destroy cancer cells. In India, only two CAR T-Cell therapies have been commercially available so far, and Amrita Hospital is one of the early adopters, cementing its role as a leader in this next-generation treatment.

“As an early adopter of CAR T-cell therapies, Amrita Hospital has played a pivotal role in optimizing the delivery and administration of these next-generation immunotherapies to patients,”  said Dr. Sanjeev Singh, Medical Director at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad. “Expanding from the traditional options (after the failure of 1st line treatment) to stem cell transplant and then to CAR-Ts was an effort that was spearheaded by Amrita Hospital, Faridabad. With the experience and patient outcomes gained so far, Amrita Hospital’s team stands as a leader in adopting such therapies.”

The launch event, held earlier this month, saw Dr. Prashant Mehta, Senior Oncologist at Amrita Hospital, being felicitated by Punya Salila Shrivastava, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Dr. Mehta expressed, “The launch of this centre of excellence will not only foster the better, faster, and scalable implementation of these CAR T-cell therapies but will also lead to a higher number of durable remissions for patients who enroll for treatment in the National Capital Region and Northern India.”

Since the first commercial approval of CAR T-Cell therapy, NexCAR19, by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in October 2023, over 100 patients have received the treatment. The results have been promising, with some patients achieving remission for more than two years. 

Swami Nijamritananda Puri, Administrative Director of Amrita Hospital, emphasized, “Till a couple of years ago, few would have predicted that India would emerge as a leader in affordable and accessible genetically modified cellular therapies. However, the introduction of therapies like CAR T-cell, always brings challenges due to their novelty.”

The Centre of Excellence is also expected to foster research beyond blood cancers, focusing on CAR T-Cell applications for solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. Through strategic partnerships and innovation, Amrita Hospital’s Centre of Excellence aims to make gene and cell therapies more accessible, offering patients cutting-edge treatments without needing to seek care abroad.