Cell therapy
Cell therapy means using living cells as treatment. The cells are used because they can do something active in the body. For example, they can help the body respond to disease or affect the immune system.
Cell therapy: when the solution lies in the cells
Cell therapy is treatment with living cells. The cells act as small helpers that are sent in to solve a task:
They can dampen the immune system if it reacts too strongly or begins to attack the body.
They can help the immune system better recognize and fight disease.
They can help the body repair itself – for example by sending signals that cause tissue to heal and function better again.
The special thing is that it is the cells’ own function that is the treatment itself, and therefore cell therapy differs from tissue therapy, where the cells are primarily used to rebuild structure, and from gene therapy, where the cells are genetically modified. If a cell product is also genetically modified (such as CAR-T), it is classified as gene therapy, not cell therapy.
Cell therapy can be autologous or allogeneic:
• In autologous treatment, the patient’s own cells are used.
• In allogeneic treatment, the cells come from a donor.
Safety and control
Cell therapy is complex because the medicine consists of living cells. Cells can be sensitive, and therefore special requirements apply to the time from cell harvesting to storage, temperature, transport, and handling.
Cell therapy also requires special treatment-related attention. When living cells are given as treatment, they can have a strong effect on the body. Therefore, cell-based treatments are administered in specialized departments, where the patient can be closely monitored. One example is CAR-T, which requires monitoring for whether there is significant cell breakdown from the cancer cells, which can affect the body, or whether the CAR-T treatment causes neurological side effects.
How cell therapy works
Many cell therapies begin with cells being taken out of the body. They are then processed, cultured, selected, activated, or modified in a laboratory. When the cells are ready, they are given back to the patient, often as an infusion into the bloodstream or directly into a specific tissue.
Explore the other ATMPs
Read more about how cell therapy and tissue-engineered medicinal products differ from gene therapy.
What is ATMP?
ATMP stands for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products and is a new type of advanced medicine that uses the body’s own building blocks - genes, cells, and tissue - to repair or change what isn’t working.
It opens up new possibilities for treating serious diseases- also diseases where previously there were few or no treatment options. That’s why ATMP is changing the way we treat some diseases.
