Press release
Minister for Health meets with EU Health Commissioner and visits St James’s Hospital
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has today, Friday, met with EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides in the Department of Health in Dublin. Minister Donnelly and Commissioner Kyriakides held a bilateral exchange before travelling to St James’s Hospital, 1 of Ireland's 8 adult designated cancer centres.
Minister Donnelly said:
“The Commissioner and I enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion, on areas including Ireland and Europe’s ongoing response to COVID-19 and the fast-evolving EU health landscape more broadly. I believe that we should be proud of our collective efforts and achievements in addressing the pandemic - achievements which have once again demonstrated the resilience of our Union and the critical importance of our continued close collaboration.
“Health has seen increased EU involvement across the board, a higher political profile, more legislative work, and tangible results directly connecting the EU with the daily lives of our people, including in relation to COVID-19 vaccines and the Digital COVID Certificate.”
Minister Donnelly briefed the Commissioner on progress under Ireland’s National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026. In the last 2 years, over €40 million has been secured in new development funding for the ongoing implementation of the Strategy, the largest investment in the Strategy since its launch in 2017.
Minister Donnelly then accompanied Commissioner Kyriakides on a visit to St James’s Hospital, a designated cancer centre that provides adult CAR-T cell therapy treatment. CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) is a personalised cell therapy for the treatment of certain blood cancers.
Minister Donnelly said:
“Thanks to significant investment and ongoing collaboration between the Department of Health, the HSE National Cancer Control Programme and St James's Hospital, adult patients in Ireland can now receive this treatment, enabling them to remain closer to their homes, families and support networks.
“A large number of actions under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan will support and complement work already being undertaken as part of Ireland’s implementation of our National Cancer Strategy. This includes in areas such as eHealth, cancer screening, networking and cancer research.”
The CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) cell therapy service for adults became operational at St James’s Hospital in December 2021, and for paediatric patients at CHI Crumlin in April 2022. The repatriation of this service means that Irish patients will no longer have to travel abroad for this novel treatment.
CAR-T involves collecting a patient’s own T cells, which are then prepared for export in the hospital’s on-site stem cell laboratory. These cells are then sent overseas to a CAR-T manufacturing facility where they are re-engineered to target cancer cells. After rigorous quality control checks, the modified T cells are then sent back to the hospital’s stem cell laboratory and pharmacy for qualification before reinfusion. Prior to reinfusion the patient receives 3 days of lympho-depleting chemotherapy.
CAR-T is currently licensed to treat specific blood cancers. However, it is expected that use of CAR-T cell therapies will include other diseases in coming years.