What are autologous or allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies?
Autologous CAR T-cell therapies use a patient's own immune cells while allogeneic, or off-the-shelf, CAR T-cell products derive from healthy blood donors. Autologous CAR T-cells make up most clinically proven CAR cell products and are part of the standard of care for multiple blood diseases. Despite its effectiveness this strategy has several limitations in terms of costs and logistics that could be overcome by allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy. Many companies and start-ups were focussing on allogeneic CAR T therapies, as allogeneic immunotherapies were seen as the next big thing in cell therapies. However, allogeneic CAR cell products come with their own challenges, including the potential to induce graft-versus-host-disease and other uncertainties like chromosomal abnormality.