All therapies
CD19-directed Approved in China · NMPA Verify indications

Relma-cel

Relmacabtagene autoleucel · sold in China as Carteyva®

A CAR T-cell therapy for certain B-cell lymphomas that have 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 Relma-cel is and how it works — general to this class of therapy, not specific to any one patient's result.

Relmacabtagene autoleucel — Relma-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 cells in many B-cell lymphomas. 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. Relma-cel is a CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy approved by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma.

Approved indication

NMPA-approved

Relma-cel is approved in China for three indications:

  1. Adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including:
    • Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (DLBCL-NOS)
    • Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma transformed from follicular lymphoma
    • Grade 3b follicular lymphoma
    • Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL)
    • High-grade B-cell lymphoma with MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL-6 rearrangements (double-hit / triple-hit lymphoma)
  2. Adult patients with refractory follicular lymphoma (FL), or follicular lymphoma that relapsed within 24 months after two or more lines of systemic therapy. This indication has received conditional approval. Longer-term efficacy data will be provided through post-marketing studies.
  3. Adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor.
How it works

How Relma-cel is given.

Relma-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 Relma-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 Relma-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.

Conditions treated

Certain B-cell lymphomas

Read about the conditions at SinoUnited
  • Adults whose B-cell lymphoma is relapsed or refractory — it has returned, or has not responded to previous treatment.
  • Disease that is CD19-positive.
  • After prior lines of systemic therapy, as set out in the approved indication.

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

What it treats

Directed at CD19-positive lymphomas.

Relma-cel is directed at CD19, a protein on the surface of B-cells — including the malignant cells that drive these lymphomas. At SinoUnited it is considered for relapsed or refractory disease.

CD19-targeted

DLBCL

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

The most common aggressive B-cell lymphoma. CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy is an established option once the disease has relapsed or become refractory to prior treatment.

About DLBCL
CD19-targeted

Follicular lymphoma

Indolent (slow-growing) B-cell lymphoma

A slower-growing lymphoma that can relapse over time. Relma-cel is approved for refractory follicular lymphoma — or follicular lymphoma that relapsed within 24 months — after two or more prior lines of systemic therapy.

About follicular lymphoma
CD19-targeted

Mantle cell lymphoma

Rare, often aggressive B-cell lymphoma

A less common B-cell lymphoma treated in the relapsed or refractory setting. Relma-cel is approved for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma after two or more prior lines, including a BTK inhibitor.

About mantle cell lymphoma
CD19-targeted

PMBCL

Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma

An aggressive lymphoma that begins in the chest, sitting alongside DLBCL within large B-cell lymphoma. Relma-cel's approved indication names primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma among the subtypes it covers.

About PMBCL
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, Relma-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 delivers infusion and recovery as a supervised inpatient stay, with on-site intensive-care support and 100-level laminar-flow theatres 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. Relma-cel is 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 Relma-cel approved for?

Relma-cel is a CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy with NMPA approval in China for relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma. The exact approved subtypes and the required prior lines of treatment are being confirmed against the official label before we state them here.

Is Relma-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

Find out if CAR T-cell therapy is an option for you.

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.