Papanikolaou acquires a cell and gene therapy building in 2025

Within 2025, a new cell therapy building is expected to be operational at the Papanikolaou Hospital, while the Hematology Department recently started the production of autologous in-house CAR-T cell therapies for the first time in Greece.

“This fact will not only lead to immediate treatment of patients with resistant hematological diseasesbut will also contribute to steep cost reduction compared to similar commercially available treatments which are already granted”, notes Ms. Ioanna Sakellari, Coordinating Director of the Hematology Department of the Papanikolaou Hospital.

Within 2025, it is also planned to administer CAR-T therapy to patients with B-hematological malignancies (leukemias-lymphomas) in the context of a clinical study. A characteristic of the great scientific activity of this particular clinic is the unprecedented number of clinical studies that are “running”, which exceed 35.

Also, in 2023, 152 hematopoietic cell transplants and cell therapies were performed in this clinic to patients from all over Greece and Cyprus out of 573 performed throughout Greece.

In total, in the period 2011-2023, 1,350 transplants were performed in the same department, a number that places the Hospital at the top of the transplant pyramid in the country.

The above information was made public during the anniversary conference with international participation, held on December 13-14 in Thessaloniki.

The title of the conference “40 years of Hematology Events of the Hematology Department“, refers to the completion this year of four decades of pioneering and offering the department in regions of Greece (Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Crete), Cyprus and beyond.

CAR-T cell therapies

CAR-T cell therapies are the leading development in the field of immunotherapy and innovative treatments for patients resistant to conventional chemo-radiotherapy. T lymphocyte cells are taken from the patient, genetically modified in a special way and then re-infused into the patient to fight the malignant cells.

In addition to the Papanikolaou hospital, such advanced treatments are applied at Evangelismos, Attikon, Laiko, Elpida Children’s Oncology Hospitals and the universities of Patras and Heraklion.

As for the Papanikolaou hospital, recently, construction work began on the new cell therapy building – a project that has been included in the Recovery Fund and will be completed within 2025.

The specialized laboratories of the Hematology department, the public stem cell bank will be relocated there and in this way the daily hospitalizations of the patients in the Storgi building will be facilitated. Also, 11 single rooms configured for cell/gene therapies and hematopoietic cell transplants will be developed.

“The new center will provide innovative therapeutic solutions to patients, as the indications for cell therapies in autoimmune and neurological diseases are constantly expanding,” says Ms. Sakellari. “With a vision and mission to improve the quality of life of patients with hematological diseases, our Department will continue to provide quality daily practices and high-level health services.”

The Hematology Clinic of Papanikolaou with numbers

• In 2023, 152 hematopoietic cell transplants and cell therapies were performed in patients from all over Greece and Cyprus out of 573 performed throughout Greece. In total, in the period 2011-2023, 1,350 transplants were performed.
• In 2023, there were 23,961 visits to outpatient clinics in total, while in the period 2011-2023 there were 286,905 visits.
• Thousands of tests were performed for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients, in our specialized laboratories, both pediatric and adult, from many parts of Greece.
• Until November 2024, 69 cell treatments with CAR-T have been performed in patients with resistant diseases (leukemia – lymphoma and in multiple myeloma only in the context of a clinical study).

The firsts of the department

• First performance of bone marrow transplants in Greece within an organized Unit, both autologous (1985) and allogeneic (1990).
• First cooling and storage of marrow graft in liquid nitrogen in Greece, 1990.
• First use in Greece of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants from blood instead of marrow (1995).
• World first use of hematopoietic cell transplantation in the treatment of progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis (1995). The majority of specialized centers in Europe have been applying our protocol for many years.
• First freezing and storage of placental stem cells in 1998.
• First collection and storage of stem cells from a child born to a family with another child suffering from Leukemia, in 1999.
• First application in Greece – and within the first 5 internationally – of transplantation in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Psoriatic Arthritis, Systemic Sclerosis.
• First international evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of the collection of primordial hematopoietic cells in patients with Mediterranean Anemia, in the context of the application program of gene therapy in patients with Mediterranean leukemia, which was conducted in collaboration with the University of Washington in Seattle and funded by the National Institutes of Health of the USA.
• First Greek Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Unit that operates with a quality management system. It has received the international accreditation EBMT-JACIE (23-10-2013).
• First application of extracorporeal phototherapy (ECP) in patients with graft-versus-host disease in Greece.
  Administration of complement inhibitors after a complete first-time diagnostic approach in patients with post-transplant thrombotic microangiopathy.
• First accredited center for cell therapy for all indications applicable in 2022.
• First application of cellular therapies in multiple myeloma in the context of a clinical study.
• Candidate Center of Expertise for ¨Endothelial Damage Syndrome¨ Endothelial dysfunction and damage has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases. Many times these syndromes are related after the application of innovative treatments and allogeneic transplantation. The proposed center possesses very high know-how, expertise and provides comprehensive and high-quality diagnosis and health care to patients suffering from the above syndromes.