First CAR T-cell therapy recommended for routine use on the NHS in England

The UK’s health technology assessor has approved the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for use on the National Health Service (NHS) in England.

Revealing the news, US biotech major Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) and its Kite subsidiary today said that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended their Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel; axi-cel) for routine commissioning by NHS England for the treatment of some adults with certain forms of lymphoma.

Specifically, patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) who have already been treated with two or more systemic therapies may be eligible for treatment. Through the Cancer Drugs Fund, in 2018, England was the first country in Europe to provide access to a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to treat these blood cancers, and since then over 500 patients in England have received axi-cel. Yescarta generated global sales of $317 million in the third quarter of last year.