The end of the beginning!
Dr Rob Weinkove, the clincial director of the new trial
It’s a milestone day today, with news that the Malaghan Institute has received final clearance and has now opened their clinical trial for CAR-T Cell therapy in New Zealand. It’s something many of us have been eagerly anticipating, and now it’s here!
Not only that - but we’ve reached another milestone too - we now have raised all the money required for this first trial! Whoo hoo! #DownWithCancerNZ
Their trial (ENABLE - read all about it here) will accept the first patients from now - just 1 per month to start with, but it is starting, and that’s fantastic.
It’s incredible that New Zealand has this technology, and there is no doubt in my mind that this trial will make a huge difference – not just for the 12 or so people who will get on the initial trial, but because it marks the beginning of a new, sophisticated and advanced approach to cancer treatment that New Zealanders deserve.
Since returning back from my treatment, I’ve been privileged to meet a lot of cancer battlers – over 100 now. Of them, there were at least 6 other people who’ve had to pack their bags and leave NZ for the type of treatment that this trial will enable here. Tragically, I’ve also attended 3 funerals for people that this treatment may well have helped.
I’m so lucky to be able to work with the Malaghan Institute as an ambassador. I’m delighted that we have not only received approval to run the trial, but that our collective fundraising efforts and the generosity of so many has meant we now have the funds to run the trial for the next year.
I’m also committed to carrying on helping where I can, particularly to expand the trial in the future, and to investigate CAR-T cell therapy for a wider range of cancers. You haven’t heard the last of me!
As Churchill said - Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.