GPO reports personalised cancer vaccine use in two patients

Two foreign patients have received personalised cancer vaccine treatment under a Thai project, but a year-long course costs about 4–7 million baht, according to Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) director Dr Mingkwan Suphannaphong. The GPO hopes eventual expansion to public hospitals could make the treatment more affordable for Thai patients.

Mingkwan told Krungthep Turakij that the patients, one from Australia and the other from the Middle East, had received treatment through a project combining research and patient care involving Chulalongkorn University and a private hospital. The programme is currently serving the high-end market while collecting patient cases, she explained.

The GPO is developing the personalised vaccine with Seqker Biosciences Inc and Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine. The collaboration follows a memorandum of understanding signed by the GPO and Seqker on December 1, 2022, to advance precision medicine and cancer-treatment innovation in Thailand.

Public hospitals could reduce personalised cancer vaccine costs

Treatment costs could fall to just under 1 million baht if the project is completed successfully and services are subsequently expanded to public hospitals such as Rajavithi Hospital, Mingkwan estimated. Reducing accommodation and hospitality expenses associated with high-end private hospitals would be central to that approach.

Mingkwan put the current cost of a year-long course, comprising four administrations, at approximately 4–7 million baht. Although she described that as substantially cheaper than treatment overseas, she acknowledged that it remained expensive for Thai patients, who have less costly treatment alternatives.

“At present, there are no cases in public hospitals because this personalised cancer vaccine has not yet been included in the benefits package, meaning patients have to pay the full cost themselves,” Mingkwan said. She explained that the two foreign patients had sought private-hospital treatment because it was cheaper than in their home countries.

Mingkwan suggested that public-hospital provision could bring costs closer to those of conventional treatment.

Personalised vaccine designed to target each patient’s tumour

The personalised vaccine is intended to treat existing cancer by stimulating the patient’s immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells more precisely. It is not a preventive vaccination, and Mingkwan stressed that it must be used alongside standard cancer medicines.

Development of each patient’s vaccine begins with genetic sequencing of a tumour sample to identify abnormalities and examine how they affect protein production. Once a target gene or protein has been identified, the corresponding genetic information is used to synthesise proteins for an individually designed vaccine, which is administered to stimulate an immune response against the tumour.

Patients with the same cancer type can have different genetic or protein abnormalities. Mingkwan used lung cancer as an example, explaining that the treatment therefore needs to be tailored to the individual rather than produced as a standard medicine for everyone with the same diagnosis.

“The vaccine has to be used alongside standard cancer medicines to enhance their combined effectiveness,” Mingkwan said. “The future direction of cancer treatment will increasingly move towards this kind of highly personalised approach.”

Research into personalised cancer vaccines internationally includes studies involving skin, kidney, lung and pancreatic cancers, particularly in combination with immunotherapy, Krungthep Turakij reported. In Thailand, human research into personalised cancer vaccines has included patients with breast, stomach and colorectal cancers.

The Thai development programme draws on capabilities in genetic sequencing, bioinformatics and domestic vaccine production. Krungthep Turakij reported a potential four- to fivefold cost advantage compared with treatment in Europe or the United States, although the current private-hospital price remains high for Thai patients.

GPO director outlines clinical monitoring of a small patient group

Mingkwan said the current research stage required approximately seven to 10 patients, with monitoring focused on adherence to treatment, side effects and treatment responses. She described the project as a “Phase 3 or Phase 4” clinical trial and said Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies had already been completed.

Mingkwan said she considered the treatment effective and expected the findings to be summarised by the end of 2026.

Beyond clinical monitoring, Mingkwan identified production scale, economies of scale and the organisation of patient care and services as important operational challenges for the project.

GPO plans long-stay visa proposal after a third patient

Once a third patient has received treatment, the project plans to compile its information and prepare a proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for long-term medical visas, Mingkwan explained. The aim would be to allow overseas patients requiring repeated vaccine administrations to remain in Thailand rather than repeatedly travel in and out of the country.

Mingkwan initially described a schedule of around four administrations a year. In discussing the visa proposal, she also referred to treatment requiring “four or seven” administrations annually, presenting the need for repeated visits as a reason to consider longer stays.

The proposed visa arrangement would support investment in Thailand’s medical services and its ambition to become an international treatment hub, according to Mingkwan. Supporting facilities could include a designated pilot, or “sandbox”, area in Phuket where patients could stay and receive care, rather than restricting services to Bangkok.

GPO considers central Bangkok production site

Mingkwan favoured locating personalised vaccine production at the GPO’s original Rama VI Road site opposite Ramathibodi Hospital, rather than at facilities further away in Rangsit or Saraburi. She argued that the individually manufactured treatment required production and delivery to be organised around rapid access to patients.

For destinations such as Phuket, she suggested domestic air transport, with delivery taking no more than three hours.

The proposed production and logistics model would support a more complex form of advanced medical-service hub than Thailand’s previous service models, Mingkwan said.

Applicants to the GPO cancer vaccine project must first undergo assessment against criteria set by cancer specialists at participating hospitals. Enquiries can be made through the GPO enquiry form, the LINE account @gpocancervaccine, or 02 203 8541.

Source: Bangkokbiznews