India-Japan Synergies in CAR-T and ADCs

Cancer remains the leading cause of death globally. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), there were approximately 9.7 million deaths from cancer in 2022, and around 20 million cancer cases were reported. It is estimated that by 2050, global cancer cases will be around 50 million globally. The rising incidence of cancer has led to a growing focus on individualised and targeted care.

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Immunotherapies like CAR-T therapy and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have demonstrated strong clinical efficacy in oncology and continue to be widely adopted within precision medicine practices. The FDA has approved 17 ADCs and 7 CAR-Ts to date. Despite emerging as the most effective therapies for cancer treatment, the broader adoption of CAR-T is hampered by complex manufacturing processes and financial burdens.

The cost of CAR-T globally ranges from $373,000 to $475,000. While Indian CAR-T treatments cost around Rs 30-50 lakh, it is still not accessible to most patients as they are not covered by insurance. Other than affordability, the lack of rural healthcare facilities offering infusion set-ups for CAR-T limits its adoption in India. Thus, there is a need to make CAR-T more accessible.

India ranks second globally in cancer-related mortality and third globally in cancer incidence. As cell and gene therapies (CGTs) can provide improved cancer care, there is a need to establish affordable manufacturing centres for CGTs. Asian nations like Japan and India can capitalise on this opportunity by creating new manufacturing hubs for CGTs. India needs to focus more on developing its own IP to support developments in CAR-T and ADCs and lead the biopharma industry, particularly CAR constructs for Indian cancers (oral, gallbladder, and stomach).

India also needs to focus on innovative technologies like manufacturing cost-effective viral vectors, non-viral delivery methods, smart linker-payload design, AI-driven target discovery, simulated cytotoxicity, and CRISPR-based editing for next-gen CAR. Growth in the biopharma sector will allow India to emerge as a global innovation hub, save lives, and establish strategic independence in next-generation therapies.

India's Emergence