Could Curing Cancer Cost 99% Less in Asia?

According to data compiled by the South China Morning Post, small Asian biotechs are developing cancer therapies that may cost a fraction of those of their Western counterparts, with development occurring a rapid pace.

“A decade ago, treating cancer with personalized [therapies] seemed like a $1 million gamble per patient, a therapy reserved for the ultra-rich.

But [Asian] start-ups are aiming to change that – by designing cancer therapy for a fraction of the cost and also taking on Western pharmaceutical giants in the process,” the publication said.

It is estimated that the current cost of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T-cell), which is among the most responsive and promising cancer treatments, can run well over $400,000 per patient in the United States.

Due to this high cost, patient access is very limited to those who can afford it, or whose insurance can fully cover it.

However, one Singapore-based company, CytoMed Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GDTC) believes its CAR T-cell therapies, once brought to market, can reduce patient care costs drastically.

Peter Choo, Chairman of CytoMed Therapeutics said, “In Asia, we have a unique situation where the costs of research, development and production of biopharmaceuticals are generally far less expensive than we see in the West.

“There are a number of reasons why, but we clearly have a very large advantage in these areas. Because of this I believe companies like ours, and others in Asia, will eventually produce cancer therapies that cost perhaps 99% less than those developed and produced outside of Asia.

“Of course, doing so would not only make cancer treatments far less expensive but would bring this life-saving technology to a much larger pool of patients,” he said.

The majority of CAR T-cell therapies on the market are based on manufacturing and engineering cells from the cancer patient’s blood that only target hematological malignancies, or blood cancers. However, CytoMed’s pipeline of products look to advance “off-the-shelf” based allogeneic immunotherapies by manufacturing and engineering cells from healthy blood doners to treat a broad range of cancers, including both blood cancer and solid tumors.

Furthermore, the company looks to manufacture broad-range and cost-effective immunotherapeutic products in an area of the world where the associated costs of research and development, and manufacturing are a fraction of those in the West.

To read more about CytoMed’s CAR T-cell therapies, and its product pipeline, visit HERE

Or, to read more about the data compiled in the South China Morning Post, visit HERE