28 May,2026 09:14 AM IST | Mumbai | Ritika Gondhalekar
Dr Bikash Verma, MD and CEO of MedTherapy, during a press conference on the company’s plans to make India a global hub for cancer gene therapy manufacturing. Pic/Atul Kamble
Medtherapy, a cancer gene therapy biotechnology company, has unveiled its strategic vision to make India a global hub for manufacturing gene therapies, with a primary focus on the innovative cancer treatment CAR-T Cell Therapy. The therapy, first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017, has since been hailed as a potential "cure" for certain cancers.
The company said its Phase 1 trial conducted in the United States showed encouraging clinical responses among cancer patients.
MedTherapy has established its global manufacturing facility in Noida and plans to position India as a major manufacturing centre for gene therapies aimed at treating cancer.
The company is now preparing to begin Phase 2 trials in India.
What is this potential "cure" for cancer?
Gene therapies use genetic engineering to repair, replace or enhance genes in order to restore normal body function. Their biggest advantage is that a single dose of treatment can potentially cure a disease. In short, the human body has cells and cells contain genes, which are among the most complex parts of the body. Everything inside the human body - from diseases to physical features - is controlled by genes. In our process, we identify the malfunctioning gene and target it with a single injection. That is where the treatment begins to work.
What are the cost challenges, and how do you plan to make it affordable?
At present, the manufacturing cost per patient is at least Rs 10 lakh. However, our aim is to ensure that this treatment does not remain accessible only to the elite. Most of the cost goes into research and development because every therapy has to be individually designed according to a patient's genetic profile, making mass manufacturing difficult. That is where most of the time and money is spent. However, with constant research and support from the medical fraternity, in some cases, we have reduced manufacturing time to just one day compared to the usual several months. This is how we are trying to reduce cost and production time, which we hope will make the therapy more affordable in the coming years.
What is the trial status and the biggest challenge in developing this therapy?
We have successfully completed our Phase 1 trial in the US and received encouraging outcomes along with FDA approval. We will soon begin Phase 2 trials in India, for which we will require a sample size of at least 50 to 100 patients. One of the biggest challenges is the shortage of trained medical professionals in this specialised field. At present, we do not have enough people trained in this stream. We have tied up with medical colleges where experts from the US train Indian students and professionals. Apart from this, reducing manufacturing time and cost remain two major challenges that we are continuously working on.
