A SHORT HISTORY OF AUTOLOGOUS CAR T THERAPY
AUTOLOGOUS CAR T THERAPY
Autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy involves collecting a patient’s white blood cells, including T cells, sending them to a manufacturing facility, and genetically engineering the T cells to recognize and kill cancer cells. The reprogrammed cells are then sent back and infused into the patient.
Autologous CAR T therapy is a kind of cell therapy, which in turn, is a kind of immunotherapy. Other immunotherapies include monoclonal antibodies (mABs), immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs), cytokines (including interleukins and interferons), and cancer vaccines. They fight cancer by activating or suppressing a patient's immune system and have become important cancer treatment options along with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapies.
AUTOLOGOUS CAR T THERAPY— THE FIRST REVOLUTION
![first_revolution First Revolution of CAR T Therapy](https://allogene.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/first_revolution.png)
This approach produced remarkable responses in some patients for whom all other treatments had stopped working. Recognizing the clinical benefits, in 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 2 autologous CAR T cell therapies for patients with certain types of hematologic cancers: relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia and relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma. Despite successful patient outcomes for many, these autologous CAR T therapies have certain limitations.
KEY LIMITS OF AUTOLOGOUS CAR T THERAPY
![time Hourglass](https://allogene.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/time.png)
LENGTHY
VEIN-TO-VEIN TIME
- Lengthy wait time in patients with very poor prognosis
- Not all eligible patients may receive therapy
![liquid Test Tubes](https://allogene.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/liquid.png)
VARIABLE POTENCY
- Compromised T cells in patients may affect product potency
- T cell variability may result in unpredictable treatment outcomes
![dollar Dollar Sign](https://allogene.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/dollar.png)
HIGH PRODUCTION COST
- Complicated logistics and inefficiency of scale
- Limited availability
![hand Handing Donating Blood](https://allogene.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/hand.png)
MANUFACTURING SHORTFALLS
- Creating an inventory of individualized therapy is not an option
- The potential for retreatment is limited by available patient starting material