China Approves World’s First CAR-T Therapy for Solid Tumors

China’s medical regulator has approved a gastric cancer treatment developed by CARsgen Therapeutics, marking the world’s first approval of a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy for solid tumors.

The National Medical Products Administration cleared satricabtagene autoleucel (satri-cel) for patients with advanced, CLDN18.2-positive and HER2-negative gastric cancer who have failed at least two prior lines of treatment. CARsgen priced the therapy, marketed as Kailimei, at 990,000 yuan ($146,491) per infusion, the company said during a Tuesday investor call.