High manufacturing costs are limiting patient access to CAR T cell therapies, according to new research, which indicates that decentralization, vector-free modification technologies, and AI would help make production cheaper.

Making CAR T therapies is an expensive business. A recent study suggested that producing a single batch can cost anywhere between $170,000 and $220,000, depending on the logistical, processing, and distribution steps involved.

The fundamental problem is that CAR T production is not a good fit for centralized manufacturing, according to Martin Bonamino, PhD, leader of the experimental cancer immunotherapy group at Brazil’s National Cancer Institute (INCA).