STAT+: Novartis develops CAR-T therapy that can be made in a fraction of the standard time
NEW ORLEANS — For some patients suffering with certain blood cancers, CAR-T therapy can offer the tantalizing chance to end their disease with a single treatment. But the immunotherapy takes time to manufacture, and patients often have to wait weeks to actually receive an infusion once they’re eligible. For some patients with especially aggressive cancer, they can die while waiting for the therapy to arrive.
That’s spurred CAR-T manufacturers to find ways to speed up manufacturing. The industry is testing newer — and possibly better — CAR-T cells that can be made more quickly. Researchers working with Novartis presented Phase 1 clinical trial data Sunday on a new CAR-T cell made with a rapid manufacturing process at the annual American Society of Hematology meeting. The process, which Novartis calls the T-charge platform, cuts the standard 10-day CAR-T cell manufacturing time to less than two days.
