In a groundbreaking development, a man battling a prevalent form of leukemia has become the first individual to receive an innovative new treatment through the NHS, following its approval for his specific condition.

Oscar Murphy, a 28-year-old patient, expressed his amazement at receiving the ‘living drug.’ This treatment, derived from a genetically modified version of his own immune cells, struck him as both ‘fantastic’ and ‘very sci-fi.’

Known as CAR-T therapy, or ‘obe-cel,’ this cutting-edge treatment involves extracting a patient’s immune cells, reprogramming them in a laboratory to recognize and attack a particular type of cancer, and then reintroducing them into the body as a form of ‘living medicine.’

Mr. Murphy has been diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a rapidly progressing blood cancer characterized by the bone marrow’s overproduction of immature B-cells. These cells, unable to effectively combat infection, overwhelm healthy cells.

B-cell ALL is the most prevalent type of ALL, commonly presenting symptoms such as fatigue, frequent infections, and easy bruising. It is most often diagnosed in children.

While CAR-T therapy has been available through the NHS for several years to treat certain leukemia and lymphoma cases, it has only recently been approved for adults with B-cell ALL. Mr. Murphy is the first patient to receive this treatment outside of a clinical trial setting.

Mr Murphy was first administered the drug on January 2 at Manchester Royal Infirmary, one of the specialist centres selected by NHS England chiefs to administer the treatment, and had his second and final dose on Monday.

Eligible patients receive two doses of CAR-T therapy intravenously, ten days apart.

Oscar Murphy, 28, was the first patient with B-cell ALL to receive CAR-T therapy

It is estimated that around 50 patients will benefit from the treatment every year, which was described by one boss as ‘hope for a cure’.

In a clinical trial, 77 per cent of patients went into remission after treatment, with half showing no signs of cancer after three and a half years.

And on average, the treatment gave patients 15.6 additional months of life.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, previously enthused about the effect of the treatment on ALL, saying: ‘This cutting-edge therapy has shown real promise in trials and could give patients with this aggressive form of leukaemia a chance to live free from cancer for longer – and, for some, it could offer the hope of a cure.’

Mr Murphy was diagnosed with B-cell ALL in March 2025, and underwent chemotherapy and a donor stem cell transplant in July.

However, in November the car salesman from Bury was told that his cancer had returned.

He said: ‘The leukaemia I’ve got is so fast-acting.

‘It needs an even quicker response to stop it. And we’ve now got an answer for that.

CAR-T therapy has been heralded as a ‘real hope’ for curing certain types of cancer

‘It’s very sci-fi, but if it means it gets rid of the cancer permanently and my own cells can do it it’s just fantastic.’ 

Last month, Mr Murphy had a type of white blood cell called T cells, which are part of the body’s immune system, removed and sent to a lab in Stevenage.

The cells were then spliced with a harmless virus and reprogrammed with a genetic sequence which allows them to identify, and latch on to, cancer.  

Technically the new cells are ‘chimeric antigen receptor T-cells’ – or CAR-T-cells – and scientists make millions of copies of them under laboratory conditions.

Once reintroduced to the body, the CAR-T cells destroy the cancer they were programmed to attack.

After 100 million of Mr Murphy’s CAR-T cells had been cultivated, the living drug was frozen and sent to medics in Manchester, in the form of just three teaspoon’s worth of liquid.

After being prepared, it took just a few minutes for them to be infused into his bloodstream – and get to work.

The treatment will be offered to people aged 26 and over living with B-cell ALL which has returned or not responded to previous treatment, following approval from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Patients from Wales and Northern Ireland will need to travel to England for treatment. It has not yet been approved in Scotland 

Mr Murphy’s haematologist, Dr Eleni Tholouli, said: ‘Usually, this type of leukaemia is very aggressive and adult patients don’t live beyond six to eight months. With this therapy, we are able to offer them years and potentially a cure.

‘It’s very significant and is revolutionising the way we tackle this cancer.’