Living Drugs Documentary Featuring Dr. Michel Sadelain’s Breakthrough Cell Therapy
July 23, 2023
Dr. Michel Sadelain, Physician-Scientist and Genetic Engineer, conceived a treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer, which, for the first time, produced remissions in adults with acute leukemia.
It is revolutionary. It is the first genetically engineered cell to be approved by the US FDA as a medicine. It is a living drug, a cell of the immune system that is genetically modified to attack cancer cells. It is presently approved for some blood cancers. While the price of this treatment is set by pharmaceutical corporations and the US government and covered by insurance, scientists like Dr. Sadelain are conducting research to make these therapies more broadly accessible and more affordable.