Prince of Songkla U.’s medical faculty to expand CAR-T cell therapy capacity

The Faculty of Medicine at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) has developed CAR-T cell therapy, which is highly effective and affordable for patients diagnosed with lymphoma, leukemia and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

It is planning to increase capacity to more than 100 patients a year, according to Dr. Jakrawadee Julamanee, director of the Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Excellence Centre at PSU’s Faculty of Medicine.

CAR-T cell is an advanced, locally produced cancer immunotherapy developed by the faculty. It programs a patient’s own immune cells to target precisely and destroy cancer cells, providing a highly effective and affordable alternative to imported treatments.

Dr. Jakrawadee said the faculty has managed to cut the cost of each CAR-T cell therapy from about 20 million baht for the imported treatment to just two million with its locally-developed therapy, adding that the faculty is open to partnership with the local private sector or foreign investors to increase the treatment capacity from its current 30 patients per year to over 100 in the foreseeable future.

The strong point of CAR-T cell therapy technology is that it is effective on cancer patients who do not respond to other treatments, the cure rate is about 90% and there are fewer side effects compared to other forms of treatment, she claimed.

Recently, the faculty signed a memorandum of cooperation with Bangkok Phuket Hospital for joint development of CAR-T cell therapy, said Dr. Jakrawadee, adding that the cooperation covers the selection of patients for the treatment, assessment and planning of therapy, monitoring of complications and long-term post-therapy follow up of patients.