CAR-T therapy takes a patient's own immune cells, re-engineers them in a laboratory to recognise their cancer, and gives them back as a single infusion. In 2023 India approved its own CD19 CAR-T, NexCAR19, developed at IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Centre — bringing a treatment that costs several hundred thousand dollars elsewhere within reach at roughly a tenth of the price. 1,4
NexCAR19 is approved for people aged 15 and above whose B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) or B-cell lymphoma has come back or stopped responding after standard treatment. 1,4 It is not a first-line treatment; it is considered when chemotherapy and other options have not held the disease. A haemato-oncologist confirms suitability after reviewing your history, marrow and scans.
These are the published results for the product actually available in India. We give the numbers and their limits together.
Read the results alongside their limits. These are relapsed, hard-to-treat cancers, and not everyone responds; among those who do, some later relapse. Follow-up is still maturing, and the paediatric figures come from a small early cohort. What CAR-T offers is a meaningful chance of deep, sometimes lasting remission where standard options have run out.
CAR-T stands for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. A patient's own T-cells — part of the immune system — are collected from the blood, sent to a laboratory, and given a new receptor that lets them recognise a protein called CD19 that sits on B-cells, including the cancerous ones in certain leukaemias and lymphomas. The re-engineered cells are grown in number and infused back, where they seek out and kill the cancer.
Because the cells are made from you and multiply inside you, this is a one-time infusion rather than an ongoing course. India's approved product, NexCAR19 (talicabtagene autoleucel) , was developed over a decade by IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Centre and manufactured by ImmunoACT; it received marketing authorisation from the drug regulator, CDSCO, on 13 October 2023 — the first CAR-T therapy designed and made in India. 1,4,5
CAR-T has a distinctive set of side effects because the cells become active inside the body. The two best known are cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity; India's product has reported a favourable profile on the second. 1
CAR-T is a sequence, not a single day. The manufacturing wait and the inpatient monitoring are the parts families underestimate.
CAR-T requires an authorised centre with the laboratory, haematology and intensive-care support needed during treatment and monitoring. Centre authorisation and current product availability are confirmed for each enquiry before a hospital is recommended.
Gurgaon
Mumbai
Senior Consultant
Apollo Hospital, Bangalore
Director
Medanta - The Medicity Hospital, Gurgaon
Consultant
CK Birla Hospital, Gurgaon
Director & Head
Paras Hospital, Gurgaon
It is available in India. India's own CD19 CAR-T, NexCAR19, was approved in October 2023 and is offered at a growing number of authorised centres. 1,4
It is approved for relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and B-cell lymphoma in people aged 15 and above. It is not used for solid tumours.
NexCAR19 was developed and is manufactured in India, which brings the price to roughly a tenth of approved products abroad — from about US$36,000 rather than several hundred thousand. 4
Plan for several weeks: cell collection, roughly two to three weeks of manufacturing, then infusion and two to four weeks of close monitoring, with a caregiver present throughout.
It carries real risks — cytokine release syndrome, low blood counts and infection — which is why monitoring is intensive. Notably, India's product has reported low neurotoxicity compared with some others in its class. 1
Every clinical claim on this page traces to one of these. Where we could not source a figure from peer-reviewed literature or the approved label, we have left it out rather than estimate it.
This page is written for patients and their families and is not medical advice. Health Route is a facilitator, not a healthcare provider. Eligibility, dosing and risk are decisions for a treating haemato-oncologist who has examined you and reviewed your reports.
Jain H, Karulkar A, Kalra D, et al. Talicabtagene autoleucel for relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies: an open-label, multicentre, phase 1/2 study.
Lancet Haematology, 2025;12(4):e282–e293. doi:10.1016/S2352-3026(24)00377-6. 64 patients, six centres; ~73% overall response; grade ≥3 effects mainly haematological; low neurotoxicity.
Karulkar A, Jain H, Sidharthan N, et al. Real-world evidence on talicabtagene autoleucel: delivery, efficacy and safety.
Blood Cancer Journal, 2026. doi:10.1038/s41408-026-01569-w. 250 patients across 56 centres; B-ALL 12-month OS 64% / PFS 55%; B-NHL 12-month OS 63% / PFS 47%.
Humanised CD19 CAR-T (talicabtagene autoleucel) in relapsed/refractory paediatric B-ALL: phase 1/1b study.
Blood Cancer Journal, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41408-025-01279-9. Small early cohort (n=12): overall response 91.7%, complete response 66.7%.
CDSCO marketing authorisation of NexCAR19 (talicabtagene autoleucel), 13 October 2023 — ImmunoACT, with IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Centre.
India's first indigenous CD19 CAR-T; approved age 15+; priced at roughly one-tenth of global CAR-T products; available across 30+ hospitals in ~12 cities.
Talicabtagene Autoleucel: First Approval.
Molecular Diagnosis & Therapy, 2024. doi:10.1007/s40291-024-00719-9. Development history and indication summary.
A haemato-oncologist reads them and writes back after the treating team completes its review with whether CAR-T is a realistic option for you, what the path would look like, and an itemised price. No charge, and no obligation to travel.