CAR T-cell therapy: Is Australia ready, willing and able?

April 2023

Evohealth White Paper

Multiple myeloma is a devastating and incurable disease affecting thousands of Australians and their families. Patients endure months or even years of debilitating treatment, accompanied by an immense physical, psychological and financial toll.

There is now hope on the horizon. CAR T-cell therapy is a promising new treatment that harnesses a patient’s own immune cells to fight life-threatening cancers. A single dose of CAR T-cell therapy is safe, effective and offers hope where no comparable treatment is available.

For Australians to benefit from this next-generation treatment, CAR T-cell therapy must be made available. Patients living with blood cancer do not have the time to wait.

In our independent white paper, CAR T-cell therapy: Is Australia ready, willing and able? – Evohealth recommends how Australia can prepare to deliver CAR T-cell therapy for patients at scale.

CAR T-cell therapy has the potential to replace stem cell transplants for multiple myeloma within the next five years.

– Australian haematologist

Ready?

Australia is at the start of its journey with CAR T-cell therapy [35]. We identified three key barriers to delivering CAR T-cell therapy at scale:

The quantum of funding available;
The capacity of our already-stretched healthcare system; and
The lead-times required for treatment sites to be ready.

Willing?

While there is a groundswell of support for funded access to CAR T-cell therapy for suitable patients among clinicians and patient groups, Australian Governments have differing perspectives on supporting investment in CAR T-cell therapies at scale. As more CAR T-cell products receive regulatory approval and more patients become eligible for access, a nationally consistent and equitable approach to reimbursement, referrals and patient support is critical.

Able?

Whist 11 sites have delivered CAR T-cell therapy to date, three barriers threaten Australia’s ability to deliver CAR T-cell therapy at scale:

The small pool and pipeline of experienced clinical staff;
Australia’s current reliance on offshore manufacturing of CAR T-cells; and
Sufficient access to real-world evidence to inform clinical decision-making and health service planning.

Australia’s healthcare system needs to keep pace.

The evidence based recommendations of Evohealth’s independent white paper ‘CAR T-cell therapy: Is Australia ready, willing and able? are supported by an expert advisory committee of patients, policy makers and clinicians.

Beardmore, R, Musgrave, S, Birchall, L, Stanley, R and Sharma, Y. CAR T-Cell Therapy: Ready, Willing and Able? Evohealth. 2023.