China's innovative therapies lead new cancer battle

Expanding coverage

Hematologist Kwong Yok-lam, who heads the hematology, oncology and bone marrow unit at the University of Hong Kong, said he is unsurprised by the satri-cel breakthrough.

It mirrors historical drug development, where innovations emerge for treating blood cancers that are later expanded to treat solid tumors, he said.

Kwong helped introduce Fucaso (equecabtagene autoleucel) — a multiple myeloma CAR T-cell therapy from IASO Biotechnology based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province — to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In December 2024, a 73-year-old advanced myeloma patient became the first person in Hong Kong to be treated with Fucaso through the city's Named Patient Program — a pathway for drugs not yet registered in the SAR. The drug had already received approval for use on the mainland.

Among them is 78-year-old Roger Ho, one of 12 Hong Kong patients whose cancer went into remission after receiving Fucaso treatment as of late July.

His suffering began in 2010 with agonizing pain in his bones, "like lightning striking out of nowhere", he said. Following a stem cell transplant, he suffered a relapse in 2016. Ho said he has undergone five different therapies over the past 16 years.

When Kwong suggested CAR T-cell therapy, Ho quickly agreed.

After a brief delay due to fever, Ho received a Fucaso reinfusion. He has been out of drug treatment for four months. Including drugs and inpatient care, the treatment cost around HK$2 million ($256,000).

Kwong said there are four CAR T-cell products available for treating multiple myeloma, with three from the mainland. "If our country has a product with equal or better efficacy, we'll use it, and not others," he said.

Hong Kong subsidizes CAR T-cell therapy for lymphoma patients, with an annual quota of 30 to 40 patients. Kwong is hopeful the coverage will soon be extended to those suffering from myeloma.

Clinical feedback from Kwong's patients helped Fucaso gain approval in Hong Kong in November last year under the "1+ mechanism" pathway for innovative drugs. It was the first mainland produced CAR T-cell product registered in the SAR.

As of the end of July, six of 21 new drugs approved under the mechanism are from mainland firms.

Kwong said he is currently working to bring two to three other mainland-developed CAR T-cell products to the city.