Successive R&D Breakthroughs in Leukemia Therapy: Innovative Targeted Cell Therapy Enters Clinical Trials

(Source: Tianjin Radio and Television Station)

After more than two decades of scientific research, the project "Establishment of an Innovative Treatment System for Leukemia" led by Professor Wang Jianxiang from the Institute of Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, has won the First Prize of Tianjin Science and Technology Progress Award.

For a long time, China's leukemia immunotherapy technologies and drugs have relied heavily on imports. In response to clinical needs, around the year 2000, Professor Wang Jianxiang's team from the Institute of Hematology at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences began independent research and development of "targeted cell therapy technology." Building on the research foundation of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the clinical experience of its affiliated hospitals, in 2015, they successfully developed China's first targeted cell drug.

In the following decade, Wang Jianxiang and his team found that the relapse rate of the first-generation drug was relatively high. To further improve efficacy, the team tackled new technologies and identified more targets. Currently, this technology has achieved global leadership. Relying on this patent, the team collaborated with Juventas to convert this patent into a drug, obtaining approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to enter the clinical trial stage. In response to patient needs, they continued their efforts. The Institute of Hematology, with a series of innovative achievements in the field of leukemia, won the first prize of this year's Tianjin Science and Technology Progress Award.