In the latest bid to widen access to medicines, a nonprofit is sending technology and materials for making expensive CAR-T cell therapies to the Brazilian government and an Indian manufacturer that will, in turn, look to provide the treatments available at a fraction of current prices in the U.S.
The deals will initially involve manufacturing cell therapies for combating lymphoma and leukemia, which carry price tags in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in wealthy nations. By offering its own equipment and expertise, though, the nonprofit, Caring Cross, believes governments and patients should be able to recognize substantial savings.
“We’re trying to crack this nut of affordability and accessibility,” Boro Dropulić, who heads Caring Cross, explained. “But we’re not offering the same products that are approved for elsewhere. These are not generic versions. There are no patents protecting anybody from making these. These are novel products, because we have the knowledge to make CAR-T therapies.”
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