Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center has successfully manufactured the UAE's first CAR-T cells to treat an 11-year-old boy

The first CAR-T cells to be produced in the UAE were successfully created by the Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre (ADSCC), a PureHealth subsidiary and the largest healthcare platform in the Middle East, to treat an 11-year-old kid with leukaemia. Engineering CAR-T cell treatments are regarded as a breakthrough in the treatment of blood cancer.

The youngster, Murad, was given a leukaemia diagnosis more than five years ago and entered remission; regrettably, the leukaemia reappeared around six months ago. Murad had chemotherapy in accordance with the recommended guidelines for his condition, but the medication had no effect. The only available treatment for him at that time was CAR-T cell therapy.

ADSCC's Good Manufacturing Practises (GMP) facilities, one of just a handful in the Middle East, were used to manufacture the cellular product (CAR-T), which depends on the utilisation of immune cells from the patient. 

Murad was hospitalised to ADSCC, the only recognised Centre of Excellence in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Abu Dhabi, for the duration of the five-week course of therapy. After infusing the patient's cells intravenously, doctors removed the patient's cells and genetically altered his immune cells in a lab to combat the cancer cells.

Foreign pharmaceutical companies have long held a monopoly on CAR-T cell therapy, which has been accepted as a treatment in the US since 2017. Its accessibility has been restricted in the area due to its challenging and delicate production.