Tracy Tomlinson becomes first patient worldwide to receive pioneering off‑the‑shelf cancer therapy

58‑year‑old Tracy Tomlinson, diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in 2020, was treated at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester with ZI‑MA4‑1, the first off‑the‑shelf cell therapy administered to a human. The experimental drug, part of a multi‑centre trial that also includes the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, combines donor‑derived natural killer cells with engineered T‑cell receptors that target the Mage‑A4 protein found in several tumor types.

The therapy is produced in bulk from donor cells, allowing hundreds of doses from a single manufacturing batch, which could lower costs and speed access to advanced immunotherapies. Tomlinson, who has undergone multiple surgeries and 48 chemotherapy infusions, currently has a tumor between her liver and kidney and other small lesions, but hopes the treatment will improve her outlook.