Clinical Trials Arena, a leading source of data journalism on clinical trials and operations, has said clinical trials for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapies are expected to reach all-time highs this year.
According to the publication, clinical trials of CAR-T therapies last peaked in 2021 at 272, with GlobalData’s Clinical Trials Database now showing, that before the end of 2024, clinical trials for CAR-T therapies will surpass that previous one-year record high.
While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved CAR-T therapies from two companies, Novartis and Kite Pharma, insurance companies and government backed insurance may still be reluctant to cover CAR-T therapy treatment.
And the reason being, the costs per patient can reach millions of dollars.
However promising and/or effective the already FDA approved therapies may be, unless the costs associated with creating and administering these therapies fall drastically, the pool of cancer patients who can afford treatment (and insurers who cover it) may continue to remain relatively small.
However, CytoMed Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GDTC), a pre-clinical CAR-T cell therapy company may have a novel, off-the-shelf approach that could, in fact, bring the costs down significantly.
Dr. Wee Kiat Tan, co-CEO of CytoMed Therapeutics said of the company’s technology, “Unlike most CAR-T therapies now which are personalized, CytoMed’s allogeneic, “off-the-shelf” gamma delta T cell therapy can be used for patients without need to match donor and recipient…
“Hence production of drug can be scaled up greatly to bring down cost. Furthermore, the therapy can potentially target many different indications, and can be used by patients of different cancers, further enabling access to the masses.”
Additionally, Dr. Tan says, “CytoMed hopes to begin its own clinical trials later this year, by winter 2024.”
Read more of the Clinical Trials Arena article, HERE
Or, see CytoMed Therapeutics’ latest investor presentation, HERE
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