EBMT 2022 | Challenges in CAR-T access in Europe

Well, obviously the relatively high cost of the treatments represents an obstacle to access and also patients in most European countries may have access to CAR-Ts. We do have partial data suggesting that as an example, it may be easier to get access to CAR-Ts in Western European countries than in some Eastern European countries. From the medical economic data that we have collected over years regarding hematopoietic cell transplantation, it’s very clear that access to this treatment is impacted by the gross domestic products of countries. So the same is likely to happen for CAR-Ts. So I would say this is a macro view of the situation. Getting into some more practical issues, the number of hospitals that can offer access to CAR-Ts will certainly be a topic of debate in the near future.
The supply chain for this particular category of advanced therapy medicinal products is quite complex, and this has been one of the reasons to limit the number of centers that are approved or qualified to deliver CAR-Ts. As the number of similar products that reach the market increases, it may be necessary in the future to rethink this organization and possibly to open new hospitals for CAR-T treatments. But obviously this is a decision that has political and financial implications. In that view, I must stress that the GoCART coalition that has been created and sponsored by EBMT and by EHA investigators as one work package that tries to simplify and harmonize the qualification process for hospitals who wish to administer CAR-Ts to their patients.