Driving innovation in blood cancer: Gilead and Kite Oncology’s vision for the Middle East

Marking World Cancer Day 2025, this week's Executive Q&A is with Diego Santoro, general manager & head of international region at Gilead and Kite Oncology. Mr Santoro outlines the company’s efforts to expand access to innovative CAR T-cell therapies in the Middle East.

What objectives does Gilead and Kite Oncology have for CAR T-cell therapy in the International region, particularly in the Middle East?

Blood cancers are among the most common cancers and their prevalence is increasing in the Middle East. However, people who face this devastating diagnosis have historically faced a poor prognosis and limited treatment options.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is an innovative treatment with curative potential for people with difficult-to-treat blood cancers. CAR T-cell therapy is an individualised treatment that harnesses the power of a patient's own immune system by engineering T cells (white blood cells) to recognise and target cancer cells. The treatment has already demonstrated promising results in eligible patients with a range of blood cancers, and the ability to induce complete response (no detectable cancer) and improved overall survival.

In the Middle East, there is regional enthusiasm to embrace innovation to address unmet needs in cancer. As experts and pioneers in cell therapy, Gilead and Kite Oncology is committed to bringing the innovative potential of cell therapy to all eligible patients who may benefit from additional treatment options. 

We have the most patient experience of any CAR T-cell therapy company, with more than 25,000 eligible patients treated through our clinical trials and commercial products and are singularly focused on achieving cures with cell therapy. We want to ensure timely and sustainable access to innovative treatments, such as cell therapy, and continue to work closely with relevant authorities across the Middle East to support this.

Why is the Middle East region an important market? What investments have you made in the region so far?

The incidence of cancer is growing in the Middle East, and blood cancer remains among the top five causes of death related to cancer in this region. Long-term projections show that incidence rates are expected to continue to grow, with a 1.8-fold increase by 2030.¹

To change this status quo, we need to work together with the healthcare systems to provide access to innovative treatments like CAR T-cell therapy. Gilead and Kite Oncology is committed to bringing our cell therapies to as many eligible patients who may benefit and have invested in the infrastructure and capacity to deliver this.

We already have nearly 500 authorized treatment centres across the world that are qualified to administer our CAR T-cell therapies and are planning to grow this further across Southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East over the next three years. 

We have invested in our world-class dedicated manufacturing facilities and have the infrastructure and experience to manufacture individualized CAR T-cell therapies from patient cells across our worldwide network. Our primary manufacturing sites are in El Segundo, California in the United States and in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands which currently supplies Europe and potentially will supply the Middle East region.

What are the challenges that Gilead and Kite Oncology faces in bringing CAR T-cell therapy to patients in the Middle East?

Similar to other markets, delays in cancer detection and diagnosis remain a challenge in the Middle East, leading to lower survival rates. This can mean that eligible patients are only diagnosed in advanced stages of their disease, limiting treatment options and outcomes.

In a number of countries, eligible patients are missing out on innovative therapies, such as CAR T-cell therapy, due to challenging access environments. To address these barriers and offer new hope to eligible patients in the Middle East, we need to work together with the healthcare systems and the broader healthcare community. As well, there needs to be a broader understanding of CAR T-cell therapy and the value it offers to eligible  patients and healthcare systems.

We all need to work together to overcome these challenges. We are committed to working closely with regulatory authorities to ensure eligible patients gain access to further treatment options with curative potential to change their current poor prognosis and outcomes.

How is Gilead and Kite Oncology's approach and experience overcoming these challenges and ensuring patients benefit from these advanced therapies?

Our combined strength of Gilead and Kite provides a strong foundation to support our continuous drive to bring innovative cancer treatments to patients around the world. Kite is proud to be leading a new frontier of cancer innovation that is bringing hope for patients with certain types of blood cancer.

Our CAR T-cell therapies are approved in more than 40 countries and we have the most patient experience of any CAR T-cell therapy company, with more than 25,000 eligible patients treated through our clinical trials and commercial products.

With our strong international experience and best practices in innovative cell therapies, we are committed to building knowledge and capacity with our Middle East partners. We believe in strategic partnerships to help build the capabilities, referrals, and data to support access to all eligible patients with difficult-to-treat blood cancers, who may benefit from additional treatment options.

For countries where no approved CAR T-cell therapies are currently available, we aim to create a future where every eligible patient can access CAR T-cell therapies, including cross-border patients.

We have developed the healthcare abroad (HCA) strategy initiative to help provide the education in the markets where Gilead and Kite Oncology is not currently present. We also believe the HCA initiative can help support the use of cross-border treatment, where eligible patients can access innovative treatments in their neighboring country, where it is appropriate.

Are there any key learnings from other regions that you plan to implement as you expand in the Middle East?

Gilead and Kite Oncology is dedicated to transformational drug development to achieve one of the most ambitious goals of 21st-century medicine: curing cancer. Gilead and Kite Oncology has the resources and experience to rapidly accelerate cell therapy research and development and drive continuous scientific and medical innovation. However, we know that this goal cannot be achieved alone.

Global partnerships and collaborations provide access to new technology platforms that further build on our research and development efforts and have supported our ongoing drive to change the outcomes for people living with difficult-to-treat blood cancers. 

By working in partnership with industry, academia, healthcare providers and advocates across regions, we improve our ability to help patients with a range of cancers benefit from this new era of cancer therapy.

References:

1. Mostafa, A et al. Why cancer incidence in Arab counties is much lower than

other parts of the world? Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute,

34, 41 (2022).