Producing cancer therapy cells in Hong Kong will lower treatment cost for leukaemia patients, local biotechnology company says
- Xellera Therapeutics became the first biotech firm to receive a licence to make CAR T-cells locally in laboratory
- US companies currently charge HK$4 million for service, while local production will reduce cost to HK$2 million, according to biotech firm
A Hong Kong company has said leukaemia patients will be able to receive a cancer treatment at a lower cost, after it became the first biotechnology firm in the city to receive a licence to locally produce the cells needed for the therapy.
During a launch event on Tuesday, Xellera Therapeutics said it was aiming to make 200 to 250 cell and gene therapy products, which modified a patient’s genes to treat diseases, annually after operations started next year.
The company said it would initially focus on making CAR T-cells, which were produced in laboratories and designed to recognise and target specific proteins on cancer cells, for a treatment for leukaemia, with plans to expand in the Asia-Pacific market.
Currently, US companies charge Hong Kong hospitals HK$4 million (US$510,836) per patient for making the cells. Local production will reduce the cost to HK$2 million, according to Xellera Therapeutics.
“We have already produced the first batch of made-in-Hong Kong CAR T-cells, which is up to international standards,” said Ronald Li Tang-wai, the founder and executive director of the company.
Patients receiving CAR T-cell treatment have blood samples frozen and transported to US laboratories for processing before they are shipped back to Hong Kong for injection. The procedure, which takes about a month, reduces the freshness of the samples, resulting in a 40 per cent success rate.
Li said the global market for cell and gene therapy products was expected to grow at a yearly rate of about 66 per cent from 2023, with more than 30 manufacturers in the United States, four in mainland China and three in Singapore.