India Pharma Outlook Team | Monday, 10 August 2026
India could become more than a market for CAR-T therapy. For Immuneel Therapeutics, it could become the base for global CAR-T growth. The Bengaluru-based biotech is building manufacturing capacity for India and future exports.
The company has built India's first GMP CAR-T manufacturing facility. The 15,000-square-foot facility can serve around 500 to 800 patients annually. Immuneel is now treating patients and planning to expand its capacity for exports.
Amit Mookim, CEO of Immuneel, said the company wants to create a global business from India. The focus is on manufacturing, affordability and next-generation cell therapies.
CAR-T treatment is among the most complex and expensive medical therapies available today. Most global manufacturing capacity is concentrated in Western markets. High treatment costs have kept the therapy out of reach for many patients.
Immuneel is trying to address this gap through its India-based manufacturing model. Traditional CAR-T production can be slow and resource-intensive. Individual machines may handle only one or two patients each month. Even larger installations can treat only 400 to 500 patients annually.
Immuneel has designed a compact facility with a different approach. The company says its current site can support up to 800 patients each year. The company is also working to reduce dependence on imported inputs. Cytokines, plasmids and other reagents currently add to manufacturing costs.
Key areas of focus include:
The company believes larger production volumes can unlock further cost savings.
Also Read: Building Resilient QMS in Global Pharma Manufacturing
Immuneel's CAR-T therapy strategy is built around affordability. The company says its pricing approach was designed to treat more patients rather than maximize profits. However, cost is not the only barrier in India. There is also limited reimbursement support for advanced therapies. Health insurance coverage for CAR-T remains largely unavailable.
Immuneel has therefore developed alternative access models. These include zero-cost loans through Arogya Finance and crowdfunding through Patguru. The company is also engaging with insurers and government agencies. Its access model covers government hospitals, teaching hospitals and private institutions.
Immuneel expects higher patient volumes to create further efficiencies. Lower manufacturing costs could eventually support wider access.
The company is not limiting its pipeline to conventional autologous CAR-T treatments. It is working on dual CAR-T and bispecific combination programs. Immuneel is also exploring allogeneic CAR-T platforms. These therapies use cells from healthy donors instead of individual patients. The approach could expand the use of cell therapy beyond cancer. Potential applications include autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Immuneel is also monitoring in-vivo CAR-T technology. However, Amit said the company has not entered this area yet. Safety, efficacy and durability still need further validation.
The company is also testing AI across some internal processes. Amit said major adoption will depend on clear gains in productivity, risk reduction or cost. Regulation is another important factor. CAR-T therapies are approved in only around 15 to 20 countries globally. India has already approved two CAR-T products. Immuneel's Qartemi is one of India's approved products. It is an autologous CD19 CAR-T therapy for adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company's three-year goal is straightforward. It wants to create a global company from India.
That means developing a world-class product, manufacturing it in India and validating it in global markets. Success would also demonstrate India's ability to build advanced cell therapy products for the world.
