{"id":128060,"date":"2025-05-24T13:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T13:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/128060\/"},"modified":"2025-05-24T13:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T13:08:09","slug":"carl-h-june-creator-of-car-t-therapies-the-genetic-medicine-of-the-future-will-be-able-to-treat-everything-from-diabetes-to-chronic-infections-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/128060\/","title":{"rendered":"Carl H. June, creator of CAR-T therapies: \u2018The genetic medicine of the future will be able to treat everything, from diabetes to chronic infections\u2019 | Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

The creator of CAR-T therapies<\/a> \u2013 72-year-old Carl H. June \u2013 believes that we\u2019re experiencing a process of change in medicine. And he affirms that this will lead to a system based on personalized gene therapies that will be able to cure everything, from diabetes and chronic infections, to autoimmune diseases. <\/p>\n

Some of these breakthroughs are relatively close. However, they will likely take decades to become widespread. In the field of cancer, for instance, these therapies have begun to be utilized to genetically modify the T cells of patients\u2019 immune systems. The T cells are then infused again, so that they can fight tumors from within. <\/p>\n

Last year, the New York-born June won the Doctor Juan Abarca International Award for Medical Science, in recognition of his \u201cresearch and pioneering development of a revolutionary strategy to treat blood cancers, based on cell engineering.\u201d He spoke to EL PA\u00cdS from Pennsylvania via videoconference.<\/p>\n

Question:<\/b> CAR-T cells work in blood cancers<\/a>. What are the obstacles to extending their success to solid tumors? <\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b> In 2024, there were many advances in solid tumors. The most notable was in brain cancer. Three [study groups] in the United States reported on adults with refractory glioblastoma, which is the most common brain cancer in adults. We conducted the first trial in 2015. [We\u2019re now on] the third. <\/p>\n

In the first two, we didn\u2019t get any responses. In those trials, we infused the cells into the blood, like a transfusion. But now, the three groups I mentioned were administered the cells directly into the brain through a catheter placed by the neurosurgeon. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also made other improvements to CAR-T cells. For example, dual targeting: [this means that] they simultaneously attack two tumor molecules \u2013 instead of just one, as we did before \u2013 which reduces the chance of the tumor escaping. If only one [research] center had had positive results, we might think it was luck\u2026 but the fact that all three achieved something indicates that it\u2019s a good advance for the field. <\/p>\n

Additionally, there have been very important advances in pediatric brain tumors. Currently, there are more than a thousand trials involving CAR-T cells worldwide. New variants of these cells are being tested in pre-clinical mouse models<\/a> in virtually every type of cancer imaginable. The real question is how long it will take to conduct these early-phase trials with patients, so that we can have CAR-T therapies in almost every area.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> An oncologist told me that we still treat most cancers with 20th-century therapies, referring to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. When will this shift you mention occur? Perhaps in 20 or 30 years?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> I believe that, in less than a decade, we\u2019ll have CAR-T cells [to treat] brain cancer. When I was in Spain last year, we established a collaboration between my group, the university and HM Hospitals in Madrid. They have highly specialized technologies that allow, for example, crossing the blood-brain barrier \u2013 which prevents many therapies from entering the brain \u2013 and this looks very promising for combining [current treatments] with CAR-T cells. I\u2019m optimistic. As you said, the main issue is that we don\u2019t know how long it will take.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Innovative treatments like CAR-T cells are currently used mostly as second- or third-line therapies, after others have failed. When do you think we might start seeing them as first-line treatments?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Our first patients arrived [at our center] when there was no other choice; it was the last treatment option. Now, [CAR-T cells are] starting to be used as second-line therapies. I think the first place they\u2019ll be used as first-line therapies will be in children, because the long-term side effects of chemotherapy are more severe [in children] than in adults. Many of them \u2013 20 years later \u2013 suffer from secondary complications, such as other types of cancer [and] heart damage. [Chemotherapy] also affects their physical and mental development: their growth slows and their IQ is lower than if they hadn\u2019t received chemotherapy or radiation therapy. That\u2019s why there are already clinical trials in children with leukemia to administer CAR-T cells from the beginning, so as to avoid having to undergo years of treatment.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> To achieve this, we also have to overcome a financial barrier: currently, CAR-T cells are very expensive.<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Yes, that\u2019s true, but there\u2019s a saying: death by a thousand cuts. The therapy we use for leukemia [in children], for example \u2013 with three years of chemotherapy, all the hospital visits and the time parents can\u2019t work \u2013 all of that ends up costing a million dollars. <\/p>\n

In Spain, you have a very efficient system for administering CAR-T cells that are produced in academic centers. This greatly reduces costs. I remember when the first cell phones came out: only the rich could have one. And now, they\u2019re much cheaper\u2026 and also much better. I think the same thing is happening with cell therapies: there\u2019s a lot of work to reduce their price and make them more democratic, [so that they\u2019re] not just for rich countries. But yes, it\u2019s still a big problem. There are practically no CAR-T therapies in the southern hemisphere, except in Australia. They need to be made cheaper.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> With CAR-T cells, there can also be risks. What side effects are you seeing?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> The first CAR-T cells were administered to patients with AIDS [and] HIV. That was something we started doing in 1997. And now, it\u2019s been almost 20 years since those patients received the cells\u2026 and some of them still have them in their bodies, without having experienced any side effects. <\/p>\n

There are two types [of side effects]. The first occur within two weeks after the infusion: cytokine release syndrome, [a systemic inflammatory response]. In a subset of patients, [this causes] neurological effects in the central nervous system. It\u2019s reversible; doctors already know how to manage it effectively. Then, there are the long-term effects, related to the genetically-modified cells that remain in the body. It\u2019s still too early to know the long-term risk. But for now, all experts agree that the risks of CAR-T cells are much lower than those of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Beyond cancer, the use of CAR-T cells is also being explored in other diseases. For instance, in autoimmune disorders. <\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Yes, this has been an amazing discovery. It started in Germany, in an academic trial. They used the same CAR-T cell we developed for leukemia and treated an 18-year-old patient with highly refractory lupus. She was taking a lot of drugs due to the side effects of the autoimmune disease<\/a>. And she went into complete remission. <\/p>\n

There are more than 80 clinical trials underway using CAR-T cells for many autoimmune diseases: lupus, myositis, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis\u2026 many [diseases]. And I\u2019m pretty sure that we\u2019ll see this therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States in two or three years. The first application was [in] cancer, but it\u2019s going to expand to many others: regenerative medicine, chronic infections like HIV, [as well as] autoimmune diseases. Even [chronic conditions] like diabetes. It will be possible for people to not have to take insulin, thanks to new insulin-producing cells \u2013 pancreatic islet cells \u2013 which are protected by cells like CAR-T cells, which will prevent the body\u2019s immune system from destroying them again.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Will we see CAR-T-based medicine in the future?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Yes, yes, definitely. It\u2019s a whole new paradigm. The next big advance in medicine is cell therapies. It\u2019s a very exciting time.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Are there still regulatory barriers to developing CAR-T therapies?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Yes, it\u2019s [a slow process]. That\u2019s probably the biggest obstacle. Since it\u2019s a new technology, health authorities tend to be more conservative. That\u2019s why approvals are obtained much faster in China and Australia than in the United States. And I think something similar is happening in Europe as well.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Do you think Trump\u2019s return to power will threaten scientific progress in your country?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Unfortunately, yes. It\u2019s still too early to know for sure but the truth is that there have already been very rapid cuts in scientific research, especially in the area of vaccines. And we need new vaccines<\/a>. There\u2019s a measles epidemic in the United States right now, something that\u2019s easily preventable. And yet, virtually all research in this field has come to a standstill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Are you involved in therapies or experiments that could be affected by these policies?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Yes. Here, where I work, we develop RNA-based vaccines. We\u2019ve now adapted that technology to manufacture CAR-T cells\u2026 and some of those clinical trials have been halted by the Trump administration. I hope it\u2019s temporary.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> Could this funding freeze delay medical advances by several years?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> I think that risk is very real<\/a>. And one of the great mistakes of science is that it hasn\u2019t done enough to educate the public, [so that people can] understand that we\u2019re living much longer and healthier lives today thanks to the scientific research that\u2019s been done over the last 100 years. <\/p>\n

Q.<\/b> After the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, do you think we\u2019re better or worse off in this regard than we were six years ago?<\/p>\n

A.<\/b> Unfortunately, we\u2019re not better off. We have the case of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who\u2019s now the head of our entire healthcare system. He claims that vaccines cause autism, something that has been proven false. He believes vaccines are unsafe. So, actually, we\u2019re worse off than before COVID. <\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> to get more English-language news coverage from EL PA\u00cdS USA Edition <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The creator of CAR-T therapies \u2013 72-year-old Carl H. June \u2013 believes that we\u2019re experiencing a process of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3846],"tags":[1204,1433,967,32,2460,267,31012,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-128060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-cancer","9":"tag-coronavirus","10":"tag-diabetes","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-fda","13":"tag-genetics","14":"tag-robert-kennedy","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114562970917946474","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}