China's innovative therapies lead new cancer battle

In July, a 59-year-old gastric cancer patient flew from New Zealand to Shanghai to have blood drawn for a world-leading China-developed treatment that targets solid tumors.

Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical company CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings' satri-cel (satricabtagene autoleucel) treatment uses chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.

CAR-T therapy involves collecting T cells from a patient's blood and genetically modifying them before reinfusing them into the body so they can better recognize and attack cancer cells.

The new procedure was given the all clear by the National Medical Products Administration in June — the world's first approved CAR T-cell therapy product for the treatment of solid tumors.

Until satri-cel's arrival, commercial CAR T-cell products had been restricted to treating blood cancers. Conquering solid tumors, which make up most human cancers, marks a monumental leap for Chinese biotechnology, medical experts said.

The breakthrough is mirrored by rapid commercial expansion of treatments, after the administration approved nine of the world's 17 commercial CAR T-cell products, seven of which were developed in China.

China is neck-and-neck in a race with the United States for industry dominance. Of the top 10 institutions driving the world's 1,520 CAR T-cell research and development pipelines, half are from the Chinese mainland.

Leading the pack is the Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute in Guangdong province, with 98 research and development pipelines.

Fueled by a massive patient pool, rapid iteration as well as improved insurance and payout systems, China's CAR T-cell market is exploding and is forecast by one industry analysis to grow from $900 million last year to $16.18 billion by 2035.

However, hurdles must be overcome for global expansion, including challenges such as the different classification of infectious materials in various jurisdictions and the transportation of "living drugs", industry figures said.