All therapies
CD19-directed Conditional NMPA

Puzo-cel

Puzolcabtagene autoleucel

A CAR T-cell therapy for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia that has come back or stopped responding to other treatment. Made from your own immune cells, delivered at SinoUnited Health in Shanghai.

See the full treatment journey
What it is

A therapy made from your own cells.

A plain-language look at what Puzo-cel is and how it works — general to this class of therapy, not specific to any one patient's result.

Puzolcabtagene autoleucel — Puzo-cel for short — is a type of CAR T-cell therapy. Your own T-cells (part of your immune system) are collected, then re-engineered to recognize a protein called CD19 that sits on the surface of B-cells, including the malignant lymphoblasts in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Once returned to your body, these modified cells seek out and destroy those cells.

It is an autologous therapy, meaning it is made from your own cells rather than a donor's. Puzo-cel is a CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy with conditional approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Approved indication

NMPA · conditional approval · verbatim

Conditional approval for CD19-positive relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in patients aged 3 to 21 years.

The approval also specifies that where a relapse occurs more than twelve months after first remission, it must have been treated with salvage chemotherapy.

At SinoUnited Health, Puzo-cel is available to patients aged 16–21.

How it works

How Puzo-cel is given.

Puzo-cel follows the same CAR T-cell pathway as other therapies of its class — offered at SinoUnited as an all-inclusive “2+21” package across two trips to Shanghai, with the manufacturing weeks spent at home.

Diagram of the CAR T-cell process: blood is drawn, T-cells are re-engineered in the lab to express a CAR protein, grown in number, infused into the patient, and the CAR T-cells bind to and destroy cancer cells.
The CAR T-cell process, in five steps — from cell collection to the engineered cells binding the target antigen.
Stage 01

Collection

Blood and eligibility tests, then your T-cells are collected by apheresis — both done on-site at SinoUnited Health.

Trip one · ~1 week, Shanghai
Stage 02

Manufacturing

Your cells are engineered to target CD19 and expanded while you return home and wait.

3–4 weeks · at home
Stage 03

Lymphodepletion

A short course of chemotherapy prepares your body to receive the engineered cells.

Trip two · Shanghai
Stage 04

Infusion & recovery

Your Puzo-cel is returned in a single infusion, followed by close inpatient monitoring.

Trip two · ~3 weeks, Shanghai

The full pathway at SinoUnited spans approximately two months across two trips to Shanghai, with the manufacturing period spent at home. See the patient journey for the detail.

Who it's for

Where Puzo-cel may be an option.

Eligibility is set honestly here as a general guide — the decision itself rests with a qualified physician who has reviewed your case.

Condition treated

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Read about B-ALL at SinoUnited
  • Patients whose B-cell ALL is relapsed or refractory — it has returned, or has not responded to previous treatment.
  • Disease that is CD19-positive.
  • Within Puzo-cel's approved population of ages 3 to 21 years. At SinoUnited Health, it is available to patients aged 16–21.

This information is a general guide only. Whether Puzo-cel is right for you is a decision made by a qualified physician after reviewing your individual case.

What it treats

For B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Puzo-cel is directed at CD19, a protein on the surface of B-cells — including the malignant lymphoblasts that drive B-cell ALL.

CD19-targeted

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Cancer of
Immature B-cells (lymphoblasts)
Most common in
Children and young adults
Considered at
Relapsed / refractory disease

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is an aggressive cancer of immature B-cells — lymphoblasts — in the blood and bone marrow. It is the most common leukemia in children and young adults, which is reflected in Puzo-cel's approved age range of 3 to 21 years. At SinoUnited Health, Puzo-cel is available to patients aged 16–21.

For disease that has relapsed or become refractory to prior treatment, CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy is an established option, targeting the CD19 protein carried on the malignant B-cells.

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) details
Safety & side effects

Managed with close monitoring.

Two blocks, kept deliberately separate: what is true of this class of therapy in general, and what SinoUnited provides.

General to CAR T-cell therapy

CRS and neurological effects

Like all CAR T-cell therapies, Puzo-cel can cause side effects that need close monitoring. The two most discussed are cytokine release syndrome (CRS) — the immune system reacting as the therapy works — and neurological effects (ICANS). Most cases are manageable when caught early, which is why treatment is delivered as an inpatient stay with continuous monitoring.

At SinoUnited Health

Supervised, with intensive care on hand

SinoUnited Health provides infusion and recovery as a supervised inpatient stay, with on-site intensive care available if escalation is ever needed.

Tocilizumab, the standard treatment for severe cytokine release syndrome, is available on site.

5on-site ICUs
Why SinoUnited

A published hematologist.

SinoUnited's CAR-T program has Dr. Lily Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Hematology — with a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF and 25 publications indexed in PubMed, working within the Shanghai Ruijin Consortium of Blood Disease. When cleared, Puzo-cel would be delivered as part of that program.

Any results, once published, describe the patients they concern — they are not, and must not be read as, a prediction of outcomes for any individual. Outcomes vary and are determined by individual circumstances.

Meet Dr. Zhou
Dr. Lily Zhou, Chief of Hematology at SinoUnited Health, in a white clinical coat.
Dr. Lily Zhou, M.D., Ph.D. Chief of Hematology
Cost

One all-inclusive package.

2 + 21days, across two stays

SinoUnited offers CAR-T as an all-inclusive “2+21” package — covering the collection stay and the three-week infusion stay. The full breakdown of what's included, and pricing, lives on the Costs page as a single source of truth.

Questions

Common questions.

Who is Puzo-cel approved for?

Its conditional NMPA approval is for CD19-positive relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in patients aged 3 to 21 years. At SinoUnited Health, it is available to patients aged 16–21.

Is Puzo-cel available in my country?

It is delivered at SinoUnited Health in Shanghai. Both collection and infusion are done on-site — they cannot be carried out in your home country.

How long does the whole process take?

About two months across two trips to Shanghai, with the four-to-six-week manufacturing period spent at home in between.

What does it cost?

CAR-T is offered as one all-inclusive “2+21” package. The full cost breakdown is set out on the Costs page.

What are the side effects?

The most discussed are cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurological effects (ICANS), which is why treatment is delivered as a monitored inpatient stay. SinoUnited-specific detail will be added once confirmed by Dr. Zhou.

Eligibility

Not sure if Puzo-cel is an option?

Start a remote assessment before you travel. It asks only for basic contact details and your diagnosis — your records are then reviewed by Dr. Zhou's hematology team.