The Faculty of Medicine at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) has developed CAR-T cell therapy, a highly effective and affordable treatment for patients diagnosed with lymphoma, leukemia and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
The faculty plans to increase its treatment 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 therapy is an advanced, locally developed cancer immunotherapy that programmes a patient's own immune cells to precisely target and destroy cancer cells, providing a highly effective and affordable alternative to imported treatments.
Dr Jakrawadee said the faculty has reduced the cost of CAR-T cell therapy from about 20 million baht per patient for imported treatment to just two million baht through its locally developed therapy.
The faculty is open to partnerships with local private-sector companies and foreign investors to increase treatment capacity from the current 30 patients per year to more than 100 in the foreseeable future.
A key advantage of CAR-T cell therapy is its effectiveness in patients who do not respond to other treatments. The cure rate is about 90%, while side effects are fewer than with other forms of treatment, she said.
Recently, the faculty signed a memorandum of cooperation with Bangkok Phuket Hospital to jointly develop CAR-T cell therapy, Dr Jakrawadee said.
The cooperation covers patient selection, treatment assessment and planning, monitoring of complications, and long-term post-treatment follow-up.
