The UK Became a Leader in the Cell Therapy Revolution, but a Lack of Ongoing Investment Could Change That

Cellular therapies have existed in the form of stem cell transplants for patients with blood cancer and blood disorders for over 50 years. But only in the last decade has the most advanced form of cell therapy, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, become more widely available, offering the potential of a cure by genetically engineering a patient’s own T-cells to recognise and attack cancer.

In the UK, the NHS and its partners in research and industry were early adopters in bringing CAR-T and other forms of advanced cell and gene therapies to patients. Since the first CAR T-cell therapy was delivered by the NHS in 2018, more than 1000 people with advanced blood cancer have received this groundbreaking treatment—dramatically improving survival for people that would otherwise have had incurable disease.

More advanced cell and gene therapy products are actively being developed in labs and hospitals across the UK. Image Credit: © Chaiyo - stock.adobe.com

The UK is one of the few health systems in the world that offers patients access to so many commercial CAR-T products, and our scientists, doctors, and nurses are leading the way in delivering these highly complex treatments to rigorous international standards. New CAR-T centers have recently opened across England and Scotland, and more advanced cell and gene therapy products are actively being developed in labs and hospitals across the nation.

But these signs of progress bely the bumps in the road that, without careful attention, could erode the remarkable progress advanced cell therapies have made for patients and families in the UK.

In a new policy roadmap, UK stem cell charity Anthony Nolan has outlined the actions the UK Government can take in its first year to future-proof the country for a thriving cell therapy system that retains our status as world leaders in the adoption of these groundbreaking therapies, and sets the bar for other health care systems across the globe.

The fundamental task is to invest in the cell therapy workforce. Delivering CAR-T and similar services requires highly skilled doctors, nurses, laboratory staff, data managers, and more. Yet in the UK there is no national training curriculum for key cell therapy staff groups despite the intricate, complex nature of this field, and centers are struggling to recruit to keep up with growing patient numbers.

Secondly, there is an urgent need for expanding cell collection capacity. Demand for cell collection services, required for advanced cell and gene therapies, is predicted to increase nationally by 25% in the next 2 years, yet services are already struggling to meet current demand. Anthony Nolan has announced the opening of a new, dedicated cell collection centre to help ease pressure on NHS services; however, with demand set to continue increasing, more investment is vital.

And finally, but no less important, is the need to create holistic, patient-centric cell therapy services. At Anthony Nolan, we hear far too often from families struggling with the cost of travelling to and from treatment centres, the financial devastation of having to take lengthy spells out of work, and the bureaucratic burden of navigating the benefits system. Simple changes such as providing access to family accommodation near to hospitals for all patients and making sure every family has access to a trained social worker would make a monumental difference to patients in this position.

About the Author

Yasmin Sheikh is head of policy and public affairs at UK stem cell charity Anthony Nolan.

Although the NHS can be proud of its success in bringing CAR-T to patients—a feat that is even more remarkable given the constraints the system has been under over the last 5 years—the UK government must seize on the opportunity to build on this success. Continued investment in its cell therapy infrastructure will be essential to achieve its vision of an NHS fit for the future that can deliver pioneering breakthroughs that save and transform patients’ lives.