EBMT-EHA CAR-T 2019 | A historical transition in cancer therapy
Christian Chabannon, MD, PhD Paoli-Calmettes Institute, Marseille, France, explains the focus of the European Society for Blood & Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) on ensuring all European patients who need CAR T-cell therapy can access it while guaranteeing the safety of the treatment. Speaking at the 1st European CAR T-Cell Meeting, held in Paris, France, co-organized by the (EBMT) and the European Hematology Association (EHA) Prof. Chabannon goes on to reflect on the historical significance in this time of transition to cellular-therapies.
Transcript (edited for clarity)
That’s very difficult to speculate because we have so many issues to be solved in the near future. The EBMT especially is very much interested in dissemination of these new treatments and equitable access for all European patients while guaranteeing the safety of treated patients, but CAR T-cells may well be the very first example of a commercial success with industry-manufactured cellular therapies, and that’s the reason why so many people are scrutinizing the field. We feel the next year or next two years will be critical, and we will witness some acceleration in the field with more centers being able to treat patients, but at the same time, other therapeutics opportunities arise of different natures that will compete with CAR T-cells. So again, it’s a very exciting moment, possible a historical transition in the development of cellular therapies, but we must remain quite humble and stick with facts, and we will need some time to really measure the impact of CAR T-cells on treatments in hematology and beyond.
Read more...
