Gene therapy to cure leukemia at one-tenth global costs in the works

ImmunoACT, backed by Laurus Labs is testing their cancer product

ImmunoACT, an IIT-Bombay spin-off backed by Hyderabad-based Laurus Labs, is testing a new gene-therapy treatment for cancer, which they claim would not only cure the disease, but also costs one-tenth of the global price.

“We are working with CD19 CAR T Cell for leukemia and lymphoma. What we do is we take out some blood and plasma from the cancer patient, and then isolate the T-cells (which are immune cells) from this sample. These cells are then genetically modified so that they eliminate cancer cells. Then this is transfused back to the patient,” explains Rahul Purwar, founder and chairman of ImmunoACT. The product is named H-CAR T-19.

He claims that the results start showing in around one week’s time. Moreover, this is a one-time treatment that would cost around Rs 20-30 lakh per patient, as compared to Rs 4 crore or so in the US, Purwar adds.

“It takes around two weeks to prepare the customised cells to be transfused into the patient, and thereafter this is like a live drug working inside the patient’s body,” he says.

Are there any side-effects of this treatment? Purwar says none like what we witness in chemotherapy, but sometimes there is cytokine release syndrome because of dead cancer cells in the body, which can be managed. “So far, we have not seen any patient with an uncontrolled cytokine release syndrome.”

The therapy has completed its phase 1 or safety trials, and is now all set to go into phase two trials here. ImmunoACT expects that it would be ready for a market launch in around 18-months time subject to regulatory approvals.

Laurus Labs has picked up 26 per cent stake in this biotech start-up, and its promoters have picked up around 5-6 per cent in personal capacity, informed  Laurus Labs CEO Satyanarayana Chava.

He said that as a part of policy, they have decided to pump in 10 per cent of their annual profits into such healthcare start-ups with breakthrough technology.

“I feel there is a lot of promise this therapy offers in India, and especially the price is way below the global standards. We have spoken to several oncologists and they are waiting for this tool to be available to them. Several NGOs also work in this space that help patients with treatment costs,” Chava said.

In the US, the insurance companies cover immunotherapy costs. In India once this product is available, one would have to work out these nuances.

ImmunoACT is also working on two more cancer products using this technology – one for neuroblastoma and another for brain cancer.

Purwar says that the technology has no limitations and can be adapted for various kinds of cancers. At the moment they have set up a GMP facility in Mumbai, which can process H-CAR T -19 for 100 patients a month or around 1,200 a year.

As demand rises, they plan to add capacity at the existing site as well as add sites in new locations. There are approximately 50,000 leukemia patients diagnosed in India every year, and many of them are put on oral drugs and chemotherapy. The success rate of chemotherapy is approximately 60 percent, Purwar adds.