President Murmu launches India's first home-grown gene therapy for cancer

Mumbai, April 4:  President Droupadi Murmu launched India’s first home-grown gene therapy for cancer at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay which is a major breakthrough in the battle against the disease, here on Thursday.

The President said that the therapy, named CAR-T Cell Therapy, is considered to be one of the most phenomenal advances in medical science.

“It has been available in the developed nations for some time, but it is extremely costly and beyond the reach of most patients around the world. This line of treatment, CAR-T Cell Therapy, is accessible and affordable, it provides a new hope for the whole of mankind… It will be successful in giving new lives to countless patients,” said President Murmu.

Expressing her happiness at launching the world’s most affordable CAR-T Cell Therapy, she noted that it is also an example of the Make In India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.

The CAR-T Cell Therapy is developed by the collaboration of the IIT-B and Tata Memorial Hospital along with industry partner ImmunoACT, and the President termed it a praiseworthy example of an academic-industry partnership which would help inspire many more similar efforts.

The President noted that in the development of CAR-T Cell Therapy, technology is not only being put in the service of humanity, but partnerships have been with an eminent institution from another field as well as with the industry.

This has been made possible by the focus IIT-B has placed on research and development over the last three decades, she said.

The President added that with the knowledge base and skills of the faculty and students of IIT-B, and other similar institutions, India as a whole, would benefit greatly from the technological revolution underway.

Present on the occasion were Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, IIT-B Director Subasis Chaudhuri and other dignitaries, faculty and students.