Challenges in global access to CAR-T cells: an Asian perspective
Open accessAbstract
The use of cell therapy for clinical applications has seen a dramatic increase in recent years, primarily in oncology, especially with the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. However, there are some barriers to the widespread adoption of CAR-T cell therapies globally, primarily because of the high cost of manufacturing these cells and clinical infrastructure considerations. We reviewed the different strategies adopted across Asia to implement CAR-T cell therapy and found that these included patient assistance programs, close engagement with funders, cost-effectiveness studies, on-site manufacturing of CAR-T cells, and joint ventures between local partners and foreign pharmaceutical companies. Although on-site manufacturing can reduce the cost of genetic engineering and expansion, it does not address many other hidden costs and quality considerations. Future growth in large-scale regional manufacturing, facilitated by cutting-edge science and innovation, could reduce costs through economies of scale and facilitate the eagerly needed global access.
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In some Western and Asian countries, public reimbursement mechanisms cover most CAR-T-cell therapy expenses, reducing families' financial vulnerability.
“In some Western and Asian countries, public reimbursement mechanisms that cover most CAR-T-cell therapy expenses have been implemented, thereby reducing families' financial vulnerability.”
From The burdens, coping strategies, and unmet needs of family caregivers of Chinese patients with lymphoma receiving commercial CAR-T-cell therapy: A qualitative study (2026) · cites this paper as [42]
The Japan and Korea sections describe public mechanisms that cover most CAR-T costs: Japan reimburses expenses above a co-payment limit, and Korea’s national insurance leaves patients paying about US$5,000 of a US$300,000 product price. This supports the claim for some Asian countries and implies reduced out-of-pocket exposure. The passages do not establish comparable mechanisms in Western countries or directly assess families’ financial vulnerability. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Hwang, W. Y. K., Takahashi, S., Choi, B. D., Huang, H., Kawamata, S., Ng, S. C., Gupta, P. K., Hamidieh, A. A., Koaykul, C., Irawan, C., & Srivastava, A.
- Affiliations
- Singapore General Hospital (SG)
- Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (JP)
- Inha University (KR)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation (JP)
- Subang Jaya Medical Centre (MY)
- Stempeutics (India) (IN)
- Tehran University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Chulalongkorn University (TH)
- University of Indonesia (ID)
- Christian Medical College, Vellore (IN)
- ORCID
- Venue
- BLOOD CELL THERAPY / The official journal of APBMT
- Published
- 2024
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 10-13
- ISSN
- 2432-7026 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10937087
- OpenAlex
- W4390916864
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 2.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- BLOOD CELL THERAPY / The official journal of APBMT (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › CAR-T cell therapy research
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
- Keywords
- CAR T-cell therapy, production costs, on-site manufacturing, patient assistance programs, cost-effectiveness, joint ventures, economies of scale, regional manufacturing, Asia
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