Nepal begins local production of cancer cell therapy
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Doctors in Nepal began using locally manufactured, genetically engineered cells to treat a 20-year-old woman with leukaemia at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in Kathmandu.
The treatment, called CAR T-cell therapy, modifies a patient’s immune cells to target and destroy cancer. Researchers at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine Nepal (CRM Nepal) genetically modified the patient’s T-cells, and the clinical team at TUTH, led by Dr Anjan Shrestha and Dr Prashun Upadhyaya, administered the therapy.
The initiative to develop this capability began with preclinical research in 2022 and involved technology transfer led by immunologist Dr Sanjivan Gautam. Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration approved CRM Nepal’s product for clinical use in March 2026, allowing the organisation to establish a local manufacturing platform. Currently, the therapy is only available at TUTH, but CRM Nepal plans to expand access to other cancer centres.
Doctors emphasize that CAR T-cell therapy is used when standard treatments like chemotherapy fail or when cancer returns, and patients must undergo those treatments first. Experts believe providing this treatment within Nepal will significantly reduce financial burdens for patients who previously travelled to India or China for similar care, where the therapy can cost over 7 million Nepali rupees per patient.
