In 1987, the pioneering Israeli scientist, Dr. Zelig Eshhar, introduced a revolutionary cancer treatment technology: Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. By engineering T cells with DNA-encoded CARs, the immune system's cells are now capable of targeting and annihilating cancer cells. The historic first CAR-T clinical trial took place in the US in 2012, with Emily Whitehead, a young patient, benefiting from the treatment. Since then, the FDA has sanctioned six distinct CAR-T therapies for various cancer types. As of 2023, Emily remains healthy, with no disease recurrence.
Today, Israel's leading hospitals are offering FDA-approved CAR-T therapies. But the prohibitive costs of American-manufactured CAR-T treatments—up to $500,000—have prompted Israeli medical centers to develop their own affordable versions. Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan and Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem currently provide their self-developed CAR-T therapies, part of clinical trials approved by the Helsinki Committee and the Israeli Ministry of Health. These treatments are priced between $80,000 and $150,000.
Presently, CAR-T therapy has found application in treating specific blood cancers, including Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), pediatric Leukemia (ALL), Multiple Myeloma, and Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML).
