Indian Startup to Offer New Cancer Therapy

Kiran Shaw-backed Immuneel will provide CAR T-cell treatment

- Jessica Jani

Cell and gene therapy startup Immuneel Therapeutics, which launches its CAR T-cell therapy to treat adult patients with lymphoma on Monday, is focused on making it affordable for cancer patients in India, having brought down costs to about 10% of what they are globally, according to a senior executive.

The startup, co-founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, was the first company in India to conduct CAR T-cell therapy trials in 2022. The therapy, called Qartemi, is used to treat adult B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and has been licensed from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (HCB) of Spain. CAR T-cell therapy involves genetically engineering a patient's T cells, a type of white blood cell, to recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively.

The Bengaluru-based startup has partnered with hospitals such as Narayana Health, Apollo Hospitals, CMC Vellore, and Manipal Hospitals to administer the treatment and is in the process of partnering with more.