St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne launches new cellular lab

The new facility will open new trials on CAR-T cell and T cell engagers for cancer treatment.

St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (SVHM) has started operations of a new cellular laboratory, initiating the call for haematology clinical trials.

SVHM has strived to research new treatments for blood cancer, improving the standard of Australian healthcare, under three phases of clinical trials – testing for safety, effectiveness and optimisation of treatments.

Despite haematology at SVHM covering all blood disorders, cancer becomes a major priority, given its severity and absence of cures in many cases.

“Victoria has long been a world leader in clinical trials targeting life-threatening cancers – this new lab will play a pivotal role in supporting the discovery of treatments, giving hope of a cure to those living with these diseases,” Ingrid Stitt, Acting Minister for Health in Victoria, said.

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As SVHM has set more than 130 haematology clinical trials, the new lab increases more on SVHM’s existing laboratory space and features a specific area for trials on CAR-T cells, intending for the treatment to be available to more Victorians.

Professor Hang Quach, Director of Clinical Haematology at SVHM, claimed that providing access to CAR-T cell and T cell engagers for treatment is presently one of the most crucial needs in healthcare for Australia.

“Most haematological cancers are still incurable, so we need to continue undertaking innovative, ground-breaking studies, improve standard of care and ensure equitable access to treatment via clinical trials to all Australians, regardless of where they live – and having the new infrastructure at SVHM will help us keep getting closer to achieving this,” Professor Quach said.