Equitable Access to Cellular Therapy Requires More Than Certification

Expanding equitable access to CAR T-cell therapy and bispecific antibodies was a recurring theme at the 2026 National ICE-T Conference in Orlando, extending beyond simply certifying more treatment centers.

Zahra Mahmoudjafari, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, MBA, clinical pharmacy manager in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics at the University of Kansas Health System and a program director for the ICE-T Conference, spoke with CancerNetwork^® about what meaningful progress on access to care actually requires. Expanding access to treatment, she said, depends on stronger partnerships between community practices and academic centers while thoroughly educating patients who may be unfamiliar with CAR T-cell therapies and bispecific antibodies. She noted that thoughtfully answering patients’ questions and informing them that not every treatment is suitable for every individual are important.

Above all else, Mahmoudjafari emphasized partnership and collaboration between institutions for the betterment of the patient.

Transcript:

CancerNetwork: What does meaningful progress on equitable access to novel cellular therapies actually look like in practice beyond just getting more centers certified?

Mahmoudjafari: I continue to believe that it is, first and foremost, a partnership between community practices and academic centers, but it is also education and information for the patients themselves. These are novel therapies, somewhat space-age types of therapies, and that can certainly make a patient who is less familiar with them a little nervous. Then, asking them to travel long distances or be at a center they are not familiar with for a prolonged period of time can certainly be impactful as well.

The best-case scenario is timely education and thoughtfully answering questions. It is important to recognize that not every treatment is appropriate for every patient, and having that informed discussion matters. It boils down to having that partnership and collaboration and working together, ultimately, for the betterment of the patient.