First CAR-T cell therapy in India

Context:

Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) recently conducted the first CAR-T cell therapy (a type of gene therapy) at the Bone Marrow Transplant unit at ACTREC in Mumbai. The CAR-T cells were designed and manufactured at the Bioscience and Bioengineering (BSBE) department of IIT Bombay. The study was funded under the National Biopharma Mission.

What is CAR-T therapy?

• The Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has emerged as a breakthrough in cancer treatment.
• Each patient’s CAR-T cell therapy costs 3-4 crore (INR). The challenge, therefore, is to develop this technology in a cost-effective manner.
• The development of CAR-T cell technology for diseases including acute lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, glioblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and type-2 diabetes is supported through DBT.

National Biopharma Mission

• The National Biopharma Mission (NBM) is an industry-academia collaborative mission for accelerating biopharmaceutical development in India, co-funded by the World Bank.
• Launched in 2017, it is being implemented by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
• Under this Mission, the Government has launched Innovate in India (i3) program to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the sector.

DBT

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science & Technology, promotes and accelerates the development of biotechnology in India.

BIRAC

• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise, set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.
• It has been set up as an Interface Agency to strengthen and empower the emerging Biotech enterprise to undertake strategic research and innovation, addressing nationally relevant product development needs.