CAR T-cell therapy for Aotearoa New Zealand

A GROUND-BREAKING APPROACH TO CANCER TREATMENT... 

A revolutionary new approach to fighting cancer, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has the potential to transform cancer treatment, offering long-term remission and for some people, a cure.

Currently licensed for treating certain blood cancers overseas, CAR T-cell therapy remains inaccessible and unaffordable for New Zealanders. At the Malaghan Institute, we’re not prepared to accept that New Zealanders should be at the end of the queue or paying through the roof for this potentially life-saving treatment.

…BREAKING GROUND IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND

Since bringing CAR T-cell therapy to New Zealand for the first time with the ENABLE phase 1 clinical trial in 2019, the Malaghan Institute has been driven by the goal of making this life-saving cancer immunotherapy a standard of care in New Zealand hospitals.

With our focus now on a phase 2 trial, we are working at speed to develop a safe and effective CAR T-cell therapy that can be delivered equitably, at a price our healthcare system can afford.

“This isn’t just a process change; this is a step change. It’s about democratising a cutting-edge cancer therapy that New Zealanders deserve to have access to and reducing inequities in cancer outcomes.”
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PROFESSOR GRAHAM LE GROS

Bringing hope to Kiwis with incurable blood cancer

In 2019 we launched a phase 1 trial of a new CAR T-cell therapy for certain types of relapsed and refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, treating 30 patients who had exhausted all other treatment options.

The results are exciting; this new CAR T-cell therapy shows promise of being safer than leading commercial CAR T-cell products while remaining effective.

A further 60 patients will be treated in our phase 2 trial to confirm effectiveness and safety of our therapy and ultimately support registration and uptake of CAR T-cell therapy within New Zealand’s public health system.

Read more about our CAR T-cell clinical trial programme

A PERSONALISED THERAPY

EQUITABLE AND ACCESSIBLE

AN AFFORDABLE
ONE-OFF TREATMENT

To learn more about how you can join this ground-breaking effort please download our brochure or contact An-Li.

This video shows the potent cancer-killing effects of CAR T-cells.

Cancer: it's New Zealand's biggest killer. 66 people are diagnosed every day. 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed in their life.

With the support of our community, we envision a future where life-saving treatments are accessible to everyone in New Zealand. We’re raising $12 million to fund the CAR T phase 2 trial and launch this transformative process. This is just the beginning, and we need your help to make it a reality.