CTMC, a joint venture between Resilience and MD Anderson Cancer Center, has entered into a collaborative partnership with Einstein Hospital Israelita in Sao Paulo, Brazil, aimed at accelerating the adoption of cell therapy in Brazil and all of Latin America.

“We’re honored to welcome Einstein Hospital Israelita as the first international member of our alliance,” said Amy Hay, Chief Business Officer of CTMC. “The CTMC Network Alliance program creates value through sharing of proprietary reagents, in-depth training programs and ongoing strategic alignment with the intent of increasing access to cell therapy globally. With CTMC’s experience, we are in a unique position to aggregate leadership in cell therapy to form a global community focused on democratizing access to transformative cell therapies.”

Einstein is the top-ranked hospital in Latin America and holds the 22nd position globally in the ranking by Newsweek magazine. They were the first hospital in Latin America to provide CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptors) and CAR NK (natural killer) cell therapies to patients. Dr. Lucila Kerbauy, a hematologist at Einstein, completed her fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she specialized in immunotherapy using enhanced NK cells derived from umbilical cord blood. She brought her expertise back to Brazil to expand access to these life-saving treatments and accelerate translational research in TIL therapy with CTMC.

The Latin American cell therapy market generated over $46 million in revenue in 2023 and is projected to grow at a 15% annual rate, reaching $129 million within five years. This surge is driven by a growing and aging population, alongside rising awareness among patients and healthcare professionals.

Brazil is poised to lead this transformation, already capturing 52.5% of the regional cell therapy market and establishing itself as a hub for precision medicine. However, access remains a critical challenge – more than 90% of cancer patients in Latin America still lack access to cellular therapies due to insufficient infrastructure and a shortage of trained clinicians and scientists.

Einstein is positioned to close this gap. As the flagship oncology and hematology institute, the hospital will drive the region’s shift toward personalized, data-driven care – accelerating the adoption of cell therapy and setting a new standard for precision medicine across LATAM. Einstein is already actively working in the field of cell therapy, offering treatments such as CAR-T therapy for certain types of hematologic cancers, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as in ophthalmology and neurology, in addition to conducting various studies in other specialties such as orthopedics, neurology, and rheumatology. Additionally, the hospital has a cord blood bank and a GMP cell therapy laboratory, both essential for the advancement and application of these technologies in the country.

“Einstein has always been at the forefront of medicine, being a pioneer in Latin America in offering therapies such as CAR-T and CAR-NK cells. Now, alongside the CTMC Network Alliance, we will take an even greater leap, building a center of excellence in precision medicine that will benefit not only Brazil, but the entire region,” said Sidney Klajner, President of Einstein.

The goal of the Network Alliance is to develop a world-class cell therapy processing and industrialized manufacturing network that sets a new benchmark for quality, accessibility, and innovation to be democratized globally. Members will benefit from CTMC’s comprehensive resources including education and training programs, standards and operating procedures, and access to proprietary reagents and materials. The Alliance also serves as a central hub bringing together cell therapy scientific leaders to create collaborations across early discovery, translational science, and ultimately, commercial therapeutics.

“Cell therapy democratization requires collaboration on a global basis. By working with Alliance members, we can accelerate their ability to develop local processing and manufacturing. We are proud to have Einstein as our first Alliance member and are eager to share our deep knowledge of the development and manufacture of TIL therapies,” said Jason Bock, CEO, CTMC.

The CTMC model of integrating patient-adjacent manufacturing with large medical centers is critical for cell therapies which places the patient in the center of the supply chain. The goal of the Alliance is to seamlessly empower hospitals worldwide to establish cell therapy centers with robust manufacturing facilities – expanding access to these lifesaving treatments for patients everywhere.