Overview
- The therapy, obe‑cel (Aucatzyl), is recommended in England for adults aged 26 and over with relapsed or refractory B‑cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
- Eligible patients will receive two intravenous doses given 10 days apart at selected CAR‑T centres across the country.
- NHS England estimates around 50 people a year could receive the treatment, with NICE projecting benefits for more than 150 patients over three years.
- Clinical data show 77% of participants entered remission, with over half of those later showing no detectable disease at 3.5 years, and overall toxicity was lower than earlier CAR‑T therapies; cytokine release syndrome was the most common, usually mild to moderate, side effect.
- Developed by Autolus, a UCL spin‑out, the personalised therapy will be manufactured in Stevenage, with service expansion planned through 2026–2027.