State PCS - Rajasthan (RAS)

• 07 Aug 2025

Rajasthan’s Government Hospital to offer CAR-T Cell Therapy

Why in News?

SMS Hospital in Jaipur will become the first government hospital in Rajasthan to establish a dedicated Department of Clinical Haematology (DCH), offering CAR-T Cell Therapy.

Key Points

• About: SMS Hospital has established a Department of Clinical Haematology (DCH) for the treatment of all types of haematological cancers and blood disorders, including bleeding disorders and bone marrow transplants.
  • This new department will offer CAR-T Cell Therapy, an advanced treatment option that has been previously available only at private hospitals in the state.
  • While the department is currently based at SMS Hospital, it will eventually be moved to the State Cancer Institute for better infrastructure and facilities.
• CAR-T Cell Therapy:
  • About: CAR-T Cell Therapy, or Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy, is India’s first indigenous gene therapy for cancer treatment. 
    • This innovative therapy is based on genetic modifications and offers a promising treatment for certain cancers, including blood cancers. 
    • It modifies a patient’s T-cells (a type of immune cell) to fight cancer more effectively. 
      • A patient's T-cells are extracted from their blood and genetically modified (to recognize and attack cancer cells).  
      • These modified cells, known as Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells, are multiplied and reintroduced into the patient to target B-cells and prevent relapses. 
    • The therapy was developed in India at just a tenth of the cost compared to its international price, making it more accessible to Indian patients.
  • Importance: India's CAR T-cell therapy provides an additional, patient-specific treatment option, as the modified T-cells remain in the body, offering long-term immunity against cancer recurrence. 
    • It is a patient-specific treatment, making it highly precise compared to traditional chemotherapy. 
    • Notably, an 82-year-old woman from Jaipur became the oldest recipient of CAR-T therapy in the country. 
  • NexCAR19: In 2023, NexCAR19 became India’s first approved indigenous CAR-T cell therapy, developed through a collaboration between IIT Bombay, Tata Memorial Centre, and ImmunoACT (a company incubated at IIT Bombay).