$2 Million Donation Accelerates CAR-T Cell Immunotherapy Trials for End-Stage Cancer Patients in Canada
核心洞察
Dr. Brad Nelson has been named B.C. Cancer (搜索) Victoria's Lynda and Murray Farmer Immunotherapy Research Chair through a $2-million donation, enabling expansion of CAR-T cell clinical trials for aggressive cancers.
The CLIC-01 trial demonstrated a 43% complete remission rate in leukemia (搜索) and lymphoma (搜索) patients who had exhausted all other treatment options.
The newly launched CLIC-02 trial targets different proteins on blood cancer (搜索) cells, while CLIC-03 will focus on solid tumors like ovarian and pancreatic cancers starting in early 2027.
A $2-million donation has established a new research chair position at B.C. Cancer (搜索) Victoria that will accelerate CAR-T cell immunotherapy trials for end-stage cancer (搜索) patients, with early results showing promising remission rates in previously untreatable cases.
Dr. Brad Nelson has been named B.C. Cancer (搜索) Victoria's Lynda and Murray Farmer Immunotherapy Research Chair, a position that will enable him to expand the centre's CAR-T cell immunotherapy program for aggressive and hard-to-treat cancers while mentoring rising researchers. The research chair is funded by Lynda and Murray Farmer, who have supported cancer (搜索) research in Victoria for more than two decades.
Breakthrough Results in Blood Cancers
The Canadian-Led Immunotherapies in Cancer (搜索) (CLIC) series of clinical trials, launched in 2019 in partnership with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute (搜索) at the University of Calgary, has demonstrated significant clinical success. Results from the first CLIC-01 trial showed a 43% complete remission rate in leukemia (搜索) and lymphoma (搜索) patients who had exhausted all other treatment options before starting the CAR-T cell therapy (搜索).
"There's huge potential for some breakthroughs in the clinic with these trials," said Nelson, who serves as scientific director of B.C. Cancer (搜索)'s provincial immunotherapy program.
CAR-T cell therapy (搜索) involves extracting a patient's immune cells, specifically T cells (搜索) (a type of white blood cell), genetically engineering them to better recognize cancer (搜索) cells, and reinfusing them into the patient to attack and destroy malignant tissue.
Expanding Treatment Access
The research team recently launched CLIC-02, which targets a different protein on leukemia (搜索) and lymphoma (搜索) cells, opening the treatment to even more blood-cancer (搜索) patients. The first five patients from a cohort of 12 adults and 12 pediatric patients in the first phase have been recently treated.
A third trial, CLIC-03, is scheduled to begin in early 2027 and will target solid tumors, including ovarian and pancreatic cancers—some of the deadliest and most challenging malignancies to treat.
"I'm super excited about the one against solid tumours, because we've got an especially potent-looking CAR T-cell product showing great results in pre-clinical models," Nelson said.
National and International Collaboration
B.C. Cancer (搜索)'s immunotherapy program ranks as one of the top two T-cell therapy programs in Canada, alongside Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Nelson, who was recruited from the University of Washington in Seattle more than two decades ago, credits local support for the program's growth.
The research chair position provides dedicated funding to attract and mentor scientific talent, from graduate students to postdoctoral researchers, and to secure national research grants and partnerships. Nelson is also working with international partners to coordinate global clinical trials after the initial phase of CLIC-03, aiming to make the best treatments available faster worldwide.
Sustained Investment in Cancer Research
The B.C. Cancer (搜索) Foundation has launched a $6.8-million fundraising campaign to fund the immunotherapy clinical trials and hopes to sustain the research chair position over the long term. William Litchfield, the foundation's executive director for Vancouver Island, called immunotherapy one of the most promising areas in cancer (搜索) research.
"We're so fortunate that he's managed to build that program to the degree that it is now on a national, if not global stage," said Lynda Farmer. "There's lots of sad cancer (搜索) stories, but there's a lot more happy ones today, and we are just really privileged to be a part of it."
Nelson, who founded and continues to direct B.C. Cancer (搜索)'s Deeley Research Centre, expressed his appreciation for the donors' commitment. "They're literally linking their names with this chair and with the program and to me — that's just such a huge statement of confidence and belief in what we're doing," he said.