The End of Cancer & Other Diseases? CAR T-Cell Therapy & the Biology Revolution

“The chemotherapy failed and you have six months to live.”

Denise Delatorre would never forget her doctor’s words. Multiple rounds of chemotherapy could not eliminate an aggressive form of lymphoma. The cancer had won.

That is, until she enrolled in Kite Pharma’s clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy, a breakthrough technology that reprograms T cells (a type of white blood cell) to identify specific proteins on cancer cells and destroy them. Unlike the grueling process of chemotherapy, they simply drew her blood, reprogrammed the cells in a lab, and then injected them back into her body. Within weeks, Denise was confirmed as cancer free.

She owes her recovery to a confluence of medical breakthroughs, notably gene editing, and a cast of entrepreneurs and scientists who have labored for decades to bring cell therapies to market. It's important to note that CAR T-cell therapy is not a silver bullet. It carries risks, like any innovative treatment, but has saved numerous lives and become an effective tool against previously incurable diseases.

We are fortunate to feature one of the leaders in cell therapies in this film: Dr. Jeff Bluestone, the CEO and President of Sonoma Bio. A pioneer in the field, Dr. Bluestone explains the remarkable potential of cell therapies, which are currently effective in blood cancers and may soon work against solid tumors and autoimmune disorders.

We also highlight the innovators working to bring this technology to the masses, such as Paul Dabrowski, co-founder and CEO of Synthego. Dabrowski and his team are building the bioengineering infrastructure around cell therapies so that entrepreneurs can deliver these bespoke treatments at scale and commercialize them for the general public.

Finally, we feature 8VC Partner Francisco Gimenez, who explains 8VC’s role in the biotech revolution and the unique opportunity to invest in saving lives while also building companies that will reshape medicine for generations to come.

America is in the midst of a renaissance in biological sciences that will transform medicine and improve countless lives. We are excited to share an important element of that story with the American public.