A cost-effective antibody-based adaptive cellular treatment is being developed by doctors at AIIMS, Delhi, to treat multiple myeloma, a kind of blood cancer. This creative strategy seeks to lower the cost and increase the accessibility of cutting-edge therapies like CAR-T cell therapy for Indian patients.
As a type of adaptive cellular treatment, CAR-T cell therapy involves isolating, genetically modifying, and reintroducing a patient’s T cells into the body. These altered cells have been designed to identify and eliminate cancerous cells. “The therapy focuses on targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), a tumor-specific protein identified in multiple myeloma cells,” says Dr. Mayank Singh, an Additional Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital (BRAIRCH), AIIMS.
The treatment created by AIIMS uses BCMA as a target to locate and destroy multiple myeloma cells. The treatment has demonstrated encouraging outcomes in animal models, although it is still in the experimental stage. In order to obtain proof of its efficacy and safety, we will next start phase-1 clinical trials, Dr. Singh stated. In contrast to current CAR-T cell treatments, which are still too costly for the majority of patients in India, he underlined the goal of drastically lowering the cost of this therapy.
Conventional cancer treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy target cells that divide quickly, but they frequently damage healthy cells, resulting in serious side effects and sometimes even death. Targeted medicines, which take advantage of certain weaknesses in cancer cells, have surfaced throughout the last 20 years. But these therapies frequently run into resistance, which leads to relapse.
Immunotherapy has advanced significantly during the past ten years, including the creation of monoclonal antibodies that specifically target cancer cells. These treatments frequently entail loading chemotherapeutic medications onto antibodies for targeted delivery, reducing side effects, and increasing effectiveness.
The development of cellular CAR-T cell treatments, which use parts of these antibodies to target antigens on cancer cells, is one example of how antibody-based therapies have transformed the treatment of cancer, according to Dr. Singh. However, many people cannot afford these medicines, especially in nations like India, due to their high cost.
The National Cancer Registry estimates that 14,61,427 new cases of cancer were reported in India in 2022. Indians have a one in nine chance of getting cancer in their lives. In the upcoming years, it is anticipated that the nation’s cancer burden will worsen due to a combination of delayed diagnosis and restricted access to cutting-edge treatments.
Immunotherapies have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of cancer, but their expensive cost prevents them from being widely used. The goal of our effort at AIIMS is to close this gap by creating reasonably priced substitutes, Dr. Singh stated.
Under the direction of Dr. Singh, the AIIMS research team has submitted an Indian patent application for their antibody and is currently working on a patent application for their CAR-T cell therapy. “Despite its quick adoption worldwide, CAR-T cell therapy development is still in its infancy in India. The goal of our effort is to close this gap,” Dr. Singh stated.
The researchers are hopeful that the therapy could transform cancer treatment in India as it approaches clinical testing. They seek to enhance the lives of many individuals suffering from multiple myeloma and other cancers by increasing access to state-of-the-art treatments.
-NSH Digidesk
