\u201cThe last chapters of this story really are patient delivery, so getting this therapy into New Zealanders. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re really not far away from.\u201d<\/p>\n
BioOra CEO John Robson (left) and National’s health spokesman Simeon Brown cut the ribbon at BioOra’s new Christchurch facility. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath<\/p>\n
Creating a world-first facility like BioOra has had its challenges. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe main issue is it\u2019s so complicated, because nobody\u2019s ever done it. Every time we reach an obstacle, it\u2019s like, \u2018well, how do we figure this out\u2019? And there\u2019s no textbook.\u201d <\/p>\n
To receive Car-T treatment now, New Zealanders must travel offshore. <\/p>\n
David Downs was diagnosed with \u201cterminal cancer\u201d in 2017 and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to travel to Boston for the lifesaving procedure. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt one point it was going to be a million dollars. I had to go through a lot of treatment; I had to go to America 12 times for different tests and things,\u201d Downs said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince then, I\u2019ve met many, many patients who have lost their house or had to give up their retirement savings to go overseas. Having this in New Zealand has just been such a major breakthrough.\u201d <\/p>\n
Downs, who is on the trust board at Wellington\u2019s Malaghan Institute \u2013 where clinical trials have been taken \u2013 says the treatment has been successful. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had enough patients go through the trial now to know that it really, really works. We\u2019ve had probably 60 to 70 patients. The results are as good as anyone in the world is seeing with this type of treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that we can now see this facility and have this potentially in the public system, so patients aren\u2019t selling houses and have give-a-little campaigns. That\u2019s just going to be a massive breakthrough. 150 patients a year. Those are patients for whom there is no other option. They are typically terminal \u2013 like I was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cancer survivor, Car-T treatment recipient and Malaghan Institute board member David Downs. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath<\/p>\n
The outspoken cancer survivor hails the innovation that BioOra is leading in the field of biotechnology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we in New Zealand need is high-quality research, really world-leading, which we have at Malaghan Institute. And then that has to find its way into being a commercialised product. And one of the big challenges we often have in New Zealand is that we don\u2019t commercialise our intellectual property. It sits there, kind of on the shelf,\u201d Downs said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo BioOra coming along and working with the Malaghan Institute to create this company and bringing in offshore investment and then basically turning it into a company that will not just benefit patients – and that\u2019s incredibly important but actually will be an export economy as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the perfect example of where growth for New Zealand should come from in this kind of high-tech innovation space. So, to me, it\u2019s brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robson says, in theory, the first dose could be manufactured from the Christchurch site in the second half of next year, but that \u201cwouldn\u2019t be a patient dose\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe first patient is likely to be in early 2028.\u201d<\/p>\n
World-first laboratories at BioOra’s Christchurch facility are still under construction. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath<\/p>\n
The range of treatments will also expand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re starting lymphoma for adults, we have a partnership with the Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital, it\u2019s the world\u2019s number one children\u2019s hospital. They\u2019re taking our therapy into paediatric trials. So that\u2019s leukaemia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe therapy that we\u2019ve developed for the Malaghan is also applicable to some autoimmune diseases,\u201d Robson said. <\/p>\n
BioOra\u2019s establishment in Christchurch is a coup for the city. It was originally planned to be built in Wellington, but circumstances led the company to investigate the Garden City, where the company settled on the city\u2019s former temporary police station.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the second site, and we walked into what was a shell. It\u2019s a concrete floor, pillars, and a tin roof, nothing else. And we thought rather than building a building, we can just build a box within a box,\u201d Robson said.<\/p>\n
BioOra CEO John Robson. Photo \/ Anna\u00a0Heath<\/p>\n
Three years later, they have installed world-first laboratories that are almost ready to undertake world-class treatment \u2013 in New Zealand. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur health system is ready. We just need to make sure that the health system is funded to be able to treat these patients,\u201d Downs said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to get this into the public health system, so it\u2019s not exclusive. It should be that any New Zealander that needs this treatment can get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
National\u2019s health spokesman Simeon Brown announced at the opening that the party would invest $25 million into BioOra, if re-elected.<\/p>\n