Australia’s first lupus patient treated with ground-breaking CAR T-cell therapy at Monash Health
Source: Adobe Stock, By Victor Moussa.
Monash Health, in collaboration with Monash University, has reached a ground-breaking milestone in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, successfully treating the first lupus patient in Australia with CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) T-cell therapy.
CAR T-cell therapy is an innovative treatment, which was initially developed to treat certain kinds of tumour and blood diseases, such as lymphomas and leukaemias.
The therapy is now being used to treat autoimmune disease, by re-engineering patient’s immune cells to target and eliminate harmful immune responses.
Monash Health was chosen as the first site to analyse the safety and efficacy of this treatment for the autoimmune disease lupus in Australia, opening the door to new therapies for other diseases of this type.
Associate Professor Alberta Hoi, Monash Health Consultant Rheumatologist, Clinical Trial Lead and researcher in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University, said the opportunity to offer this type of advanced therapy was wonderful for Lani and for patients suffering autoimmune diseases like lupus.
‘Lupus is a chronic autoimmune illness in which the body’s immune system attacks its normal cells. It can affect different parts of your body, commonly leading to skin problems, joint pain and fatigue.’
‘Lupus is more common in females. It mostly affects people between 20 to 40 years old but can also occur in newborns, children and older adults.’
‘Lani’s response to the treatment has been fantastic – she’s now off her immunosuppressant that she was previously dependent on. This new treatment offers significant hope for people suffering with lupus, it’s a game changer.’
Professor Jake Shortt, Clinical Director of Monash Health Haematology and Head of Haematology Research, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University said the trial showed the capability of treating autoimmune disease at Monash Health.
‘Monash Health, in partnership with Monash University, is focused on developing treatments of the future for autoimmune disease as well as cancers.’
‘CAR T-cell therapy is in the new frontier of treatments, and Monash Health has demonstrated it has the infrastructure and expertise to deliver this treatment and show how well it can work – delivering life-changing results for people like Lani.’
‘By trialling new treatments like this, people in Melbourne South-East and across Victoria now have world-leading and cutting-edge treatments closer to home.’
32-year-old Lani Watson was the first patient to be treated for lupus with CAR T-cell therapy in Australia, at Monash Health, and has had an amazing response to the treatment. She is now in remission after first being diagnosed with lupus in July 2022.
Lani said the treatment meant she was able to get back to doing the things she loved like playing footy.
‘The new CAR T-cell therapy is amazing. I’m now in remission, playing footy again and without pain.’
‘Thank you to the Monash Health team and everyone involved in the trial for giving me my life back.’
The Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas MP congratulated all involved on the achievement.
‘Victoria is a global leader in medical research and innovation - CAR T-cell therapy is changing lives and the results from Lani’s treatment are incredibly encouraging,’ said the Minister.
‘90% of people diagnosed with Lupus are women - this breakthrough has significant implications for how women with autoimmune diseases access treatment into the future.
‘I want to congratulate Monash Health on this exciting development.’
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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