Jason Oxenham<\/a> also underwent CAR-T cell therapy, travelling twice to Shanghai after being diagnosed with myeloma. <\/p>\nThe treatment cost close to half a million dollars in nine months. <\/p>\n
It initially worked, before the cancer returned.<\/p>\n
Oxenham died earlier this year after a six-year battle with the disease.<\/p>\n
Neill said he supported organisations working to advance treatment access in New Zealand, including the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research.<\/p>\n
That institute sits at the centre of New Zealand\u2019s only homegrown CAR T-cell programme, led clinically by Professor Robert Weinkove.<\/p>\n
CAR T therapy involves removing a patient\u2019s immune cells, genetically reprogramming them to recognise cancer, and reinfusing them back into the body as a \u201cliving drug\u201d designed to hunt down malignant cells.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a form of treatment that involves taking a patient\u2019s own blood cells, particularly a type called the T cell, and taking them to the lab and then genetically modifying them,\u201d Weinkove said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is reprogramming the patient\u2019s own immune cells to now recognise something on their cancer cells as foreign.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the engineered cells multiply inside the patient after infusion, attacking cancer in a way that resembles a natural immune response.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a living drug in a real sense of the word,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe introduce a gene that encodes that new receptor into the patient\u2019s own T cells, we grow them up in the lab, and then they are given back as a quick push through the veins over a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and biotech company BioOra are working to move CAR T-cell therapy from clinical trial success into a regulated, funded treatment pathway in New Zealand. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
CAR T-cell therapy is now considered standard of care internationally for certain blood cancers, particularly some lymphomas and multiple myeloma. <\/p>\n
But in New Zealand, access is still limited to clinical trials.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have any publicly funded CAR T-cell treatments,\u201d Weinkove said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are behind our cousins across the ditch. Australia has multiple CAR T-cell products funded for several indications, and we don\u2019t have any yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alongside the Malaghan Institute\u2019s clinical work, Wellington-based BioOra is emerging as a key commercial partner in the push to scale CAR T-cell therapy beyond trials. <\/p>\n
The company recently announced it has secured rights to develop and commercialise a next-generation CAR T product originating from New Zealand research, with plans to expand its reach into major global markets including Australia, the United States and Europe.<\/p>\n
Weinkove said, at present, New Zealand patients were being forced to travel overseas for treatment, often at great personal cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is becoming more and more of a stark difference, with more patients increasingly aware of these options and then seeking to travel overseas to obtain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Renowned]()
Renowned photojournalist Jason Oxenham, who passed away last month, travelled to Shanghai to receive Car-T therapy. Photo \/ Supplied <\/p>\n
At present, the Malaghan Institute has treated just over 60 patients in New Zealand using CAR T cells manufactured locally through trials in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut those are clinical trials and they don\u2019t really meet the need,\u201d Weinkove said.<\/p>\n
The institute\u2019s current phase two trial is expected to complete enrolment around the end of the year. <\/p>\n
If results are positive, there is hope the treatment could move towards approval.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an optimistic scenario, we may have something suitable to be publicly funded next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s going to be in a particular kind of lymphoma and it doesn\u2019t address the entirety of need, particularly in myeloma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if approval comes, Weinkove said CAR T therapy does not fit neatly into existing health system categories.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got characteristics of a medicine, but also of a procedure and a blood transfusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
That complexity is one reason New Zealand health agencies, including Pharmac and Medsafe, are now working with the Cancer Control Agency on how CAR T therapies should even be assessed for funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still at that stage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ll hopefully hear news in the next few months about that assessment pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n
For patients, the potential benefits are significant. <\/p>\n
Depending on cancer type and treatment, around a third of patients achieve long-term remission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always cautious about using the word cure,\u201d Weinkove said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we do have five-year-plus follow-up data, and a good fraction of patients may well be cured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even where cure is not achieved, many patients experience extended remission periods, often with fewer side effects than intensive chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey felt less unwell compared to some of the intensive chemotherapies they\u2019d received before,\u201d he said of New Zealand trial participants.<\/p>\n
But CAR T therapy is not without serious risks, including inflammatory reactions that can resemble severe infection, neurological effects such as confusion, and complications requiring intensive monitoring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are important side effects that people need to watch for; these can range from mild fever to patients becoming quite unwell and septic,\u201d Weinkove said.<\/p>\n
Blood Cancer NZ says the stakes extend beyond individual treatment outcomes to system-wide access and planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cCAR T-cell therapy is now an established standard of care in many countries, yet New Zealanders with blood cancer are increasingly having to travel overseas to access it,\u201d chief executive Tim Edmonds said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe minister\u2019s announcement of a blood cancer oversight group is a positive step.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut ultimately, the measure of success is improved patient outcomes. For blood cancer, outcomes are directly shaped by the system\u2019s ability to deliver modern treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The financial burden of overseas treatment, combined with the difficulty of returning home for follow-up care, is already being felt in New Zealand hospitals, Weinkove said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t really live in a bubble,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese treatments are happening internationally. They\u2019re going to keep happening, and we have to be aware that they\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI had T cell lymphoma \u2013 quite rare, less than 2% of all lymphomas \u2013 and the international…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[542,24928,28246,4250,6757,2534,3944,124,1888,738,1333,134,78,296,440,661,32739,3025,117,111,43,139,1536,69,6293,7241,21694,6211,119832,3422,2044,5259,3524,1316,1533,10119,17450,1530,80],"class_list":["post-415671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-access","tag-advanced","tag-begin","tag-blood","tag-bringing","tag-cancer","tag-car","tag-could","tag-first","tag-funding","tag-get","tag-health","tag-in","tag-into","tag-local","tag-major","tag-marking","tag-most","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-next","tag-nz","tag-patients","tag-publicly","tag-step","tag-system","tag-tcell","tag-therapy","tag-time","tag-toward","tag-treatments","tag-when","tag-will","tag-within","tag-worlds","tag-years","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}