Discussing CAR-T on the Zacks Friday Finish Line Podcast
September 1, 2017 --
This past week was a landmark moment for the CAR-T approach to cancer immunotherapy. CAR-T is the process where companies are able to draw a patient's blood, re-engineer T-cells to make them better able to recognize cancer, and reinfuse them back in the body.
On Monday, Gilead purchased CAR-T leader Kite Pharma for $11.9 billion, or $180 per share. In the press release announcing the deal, Gilead CEO John Milligan predicted that cellular therapies like CAR-T will become the "cornerstone" of cancer treatment in the future. If that news wasn't exciting enough, then on Wednesday FDA approved Kymriah, a CAR-T therapy from Novartis for pediatric ALL. This was a historic milestone because it is the first time CAR-T has been approved for commercialization anywhere in the world.
Brad Loncar, founder of the Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy Index, joined Ryan McQueeney and Maddy Johnson of Zacks for their Friday Finish Line Podcast to discuss all of this exciting news. Please have a listen below if you would like to learn more about CAR-T and what all of this week's news could mean for the future of cancer care.
Opinions expressed are those of the author or cancer researchers who are interviewed, are subject to change, are not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, nor investment advice.
We hope you enjoy the program.
Gilead Buys Kite, the Future of CAR-T and A Visit to the New Whole Foods: Ryan McQueeney and Maddy Johnson take on this week’s biggest stories, including an interview with Brad Loncar about Gilead’s acquisition of Kite Pharma, the future of the CAR-T therapy industry, and Amazon’s changes to Whole Foods stores.