Blood cancer patients to get new cutting-edge treatment on the NHS

Patients with an aggressive form of leukaemia will now be able to receive a breakthrough immunotherapy on the NHS which was developed and trialled at UCLH and UCL.

The CAR T cell therapy – which reprogrammes a patient’s immune cells to attack cancer – was today approved for routine use in the NHS by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The therapy was invented by UCL Cancer Institute scientists, led by Dr Martin Pule and Prof Karl Peggs, with UCLH and UCL leading on clinical trials of the therapy.

The treatment will be available to people aged 26 and over living with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia which has returned or not responded to previous treatment, following approval from the NICE.

In a clinical trial, 77% of patients saw their cancer enter remission after treatment with obe-cel, with half of those showing no signs of detectable cancer after three and a half years.

Known as obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel) and marketed under the drug name Aucatzyl, the therapy has reduced immune toxicity and persists for longer in blood cancer patients, overcoming two common limitations of earlier CAR T cell therapies. Aucatzyl was taken to regulatory approval and is manufactured by UCL spinout business Autolus, which was set up with the help of UCL Business, the commercialisation company of UCL.

The development of the therapy has had long-standing and crucial support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) UCLH Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

The decision from NICE means the therapy can now be offered to all eligible NHS patients as a licensed drug.

Eligible patients will receive two doses of CAR-T therapy intravenously, ten days apart, with the treatment being delivered at selected specialist CAR-T centres across the country.

Dr Claire Roddie, UCLH consultant haematologist and associate professor at the UCL Cancer Institute, has led on clinical trials of the therapy, and said: “I am delighted to hear of NICE's decision. Many more patients now stand to benefit from CAR-T cell therapy on the NHS. We have been working on proving the safety and efficacy of this drug for ALL since 2017 and it has brought together clinical and research teams from UCL and UCLH, with support from government and arms-length bodies like the NIHR and the BRC as well as the pharmaceutical industry.”

Professor Peggs, who is UCLH Director of Research and Director of the NIHR UCLH BRC, said: “There is real cause for celebration today. It is fantastic to see this therapy now recommended as a standard of care within the NHS. This decision is a major milestone in the progression of a life-saving therapy from our academic laboratories, through to industry-led regulatory approval. Many patients stand to benefit from this point onwards.”

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, said: “This cutting-edge therapy has shown real promise in trials and could give patients with this aggressive form of leukaemia a chance to live free from cancer for longer – and, for some, it could offer the hope of a cure.

“This ‘living medicine’ boosts a patient’s own immune system and then guides T-cells towards the cancer to kill it – it is fantastic to have another pioneering option available on the NHS, adding to our range of CAR-T therapies which are helping people with blood cancers live longer, healthier lives.”

Health Minister Ashley Dalton said: “This pioneering treatment is excellent news for patients and their families, demonstrating how the NHS is at the forefront of medical innovation.”

Aucatzyl (obecabtagene autoleucel) is manufactured by Autolus Therapeutics, a spin-out from University College London, and will be made in Stevenage, which is home to multinational pharmaceutical companies and the Cell and Gene Therapies Catapult.

Patients experienced mild to moderate side effects from the treatment, with Cytokine Release Syndrome the most common side effect, which happens when the immune system goes into overdrive after treatment, causing flu-like symptoms.