Command Hospital Kolkata Gives Indigenous NexCAR19 CAR-T Therapy to Serving Soldier
Command Hospital (Eastern Command), Kolkata, has successfully administered India’s indigenous CAR-T cell therapy, NexCAR19, to a 39-year-old serving soldier suffering from relapsed/refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (B-cell ALL), in what the Eastern Command described as a landmark achievement for military healthcare.
The treatment, carried out under the aegis of Eastern Command, is being seen as a notable step in the Armed Forces’ use of advanced medical technology to treat complex blood cancers among serving personnel. It also adds to the range of specialised cancer care available within the military health system.
NexCAR19 is India’s first indigenous CAR-T cell therapy. It was developed through a collaboration between IIT Bombay, Tata Memorial Centre and biotechnology start-up ImmunoACT. The therapy has been positioned as a more affordable and accessible immunotherapy option for blood cancers, including leukaemia and lymphoma.
CAR-T cell therapy works by taking a patient’s own T-cells and genetically modifying them with Chimeric Antigen Receptors, or CARs, so that they can recognise and attack cancer cells expressing the CD19 protein. The process involves collecting T-cells from the patient, engineering them in the laboratory, and then reinfusing the modified cells back into the body. Once administered, these cells are designed to identify and destroy the targeted cancer cells.
According to the information provided, NexCAR19 uses a humanised product configuration rather than murine, or mouse-derived, components. This is associated with a lower risk of severe neurological side effects. The therapy is regarded as an important option for patients with relapsed or refractory blood cancers who have exhausted conventional treatment options.
The cost of NexCAR19 is reported to be about one-tenth of comparable CAR-T therapies available in Western countries, making it one of the more affordable such treatments globally. Command Hospitals across India are among the institutions authorised to administer the therapy.
Eastern Command described the successful administration of the therapy to the soldier as a “landmark achievement”, saying it reflects clinical excellence, innovation and a commitment to providing cutting-edge, patient-centric healthcare to the Indian Armed Forces. The development also highlights the Army medical establishment’s efforts to adopt advanced medical technologies for serving personnel and their dependants.
The Kolkata achievement follows another recent CAR-T therapy milestone within the military healthcare network. In September, Command Hospital (Western Command), Chandimandir, administered its first CAR-T cell therapy to a 16-year-old patient diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
With the successful use of NexCAR19 at Command Hospital Kolkata, the Armed Forces healthcare system has added another advanced treatment capability for blood cancer patients, while also demonstrating the application of an indigenous medical technology in the treatment of a serving soldier with relapsed/refractory B-cell ALL.
