To better understand patients’ experiences with these groundbreaking therapies, the Advanced Therapies Solutions team at Cardinal Health spoke with cancer survivor Brad Watts
Imagine a world where once-incurable diseases are not just treatable, but potentially curable. Cell and gene therapies (CGTs) are turning that vision into reality and offering new hope to patients with serious conditions. Among the most groundbreaking medical innovations of our time, CGTs are reshaping the future of healthcare, and Cardinal Health plays a critical role in getting them to market.
In 2017, we partnered with biopharmaceutical manufacturers to help launch the first CAR T-cell therapies in the US, putting us at the forefront of the CGT frontier.
Today, we continue to develop tailored solutions that ensure life-changing CGTs reach the patients who need them most. “Our Advanced Therapy Solutions team provide a suite of go-to-market offerings uniquely designed to improve patient access to these therapies,” said Fran Gregory, PharmD, MBA, and VP of Emerging Therapies at Cardinal Health. “Our work with product sponsors, which takes place long before a therapy is submitted for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), simplifies the complexities of cell and gene therapies and increases speed to market for the treatment of rare and often severe diseases.”
From clinical development to commercialization, our team of experts partner with biopharma manufacturers with evidence planning and regulatory support, third-party logistics and distribution, patient support services, and market access, to ensure these therapies are available to patients.
“Our product expertise is enhanced by a deep understanding of cancer patients’ experiences. Our team partners with individuals like Brad Watts, whose stories help inspire change,” Gregory said.
In 2017, Watts, then 29, was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), blood cancers that develop in the lymphatic system. While follicular lymphoma typically responds well to treatment, DLBCL is aggressive and fast-growing and can be hard to cure. Over the next several years, Watts underwent multiple treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy. None were successful. Finally, in 2020, he became eligible for CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment that would weaponize his own white blood cells to attack his blood cancer cells.
Due to the complexity, cost and potential for adverse events associated with CAR T-cell therapies, patients must receive them at a CGT administration site. Watts was granted access to outpatient CAR T-cell therapy treatments at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
“One of the reasons I chose the CAR T-cell therapy that I did was because it had an outpatient option, where I could recover at home,” Watts said. “Other CAR T-cell therapies would have required me to be in the hospital for two weeks.”
Once the therapy arrived at the administration site, Watts received it as part of a standard IV infusion. He was then discharged and closely monitored at home through frequent check-ins and follow-up appointments with his providers.
“[Initially] I had flu-like symptoms, times ten. I was in constant contact with my physician, having conversations about what to expect and what was going on within my body. As things got further out from the infusion, these conversations switched from how I was reacting to the therapy to how was the disease responding to the treatment.”
Overall, his providers were happy with his progress, but when he had completed his follow-up care, they discovered he still had one tumor that was not responding to treatment. Ultimately, they surgically removed the tumor and granted him a break from his treatment for his wedding.
Today, Watts remains on a drug holiday and is enjoying life. He and his wife have a young family, and he is back to work full-time. In his spare time, he shares his story with other patients and at various cell and gene therapy conferences.
“Being diagnosed with cancer, no matter what stage or type, or how treatable or how untreatable it is, is a huge inflection point in a person's life,” he said. “Everyone I met and every treatment I had along the way, whether large and small, had a major impact on my life. That is why I tell so many people my story. I want other patients to know what lies ahead for them; I also want every care provider to realize that every gesture they make can have a major impact on a patient’s journey.”
Learn more about the ways CGTs are giving patients like Watts hope in Cardinal Health’s inaugural Advanced Therapies Report, published in May 2025.