Central Valley Rises as Regenerative Medicine Hub with $24M Push for CAR-T and Gene Therapies

RESNO, CA – November 19, 2025 — Community Health System and Valley Children’s Healthcare are jointly transforming the cancer treatment landscape in California’s Central Valley, bringing advanced cellular and gene therapies, including life-saving CAR-T therapy, closer to local patients. This concerted effort seeks to alleviate the significant economic and logistical burden patients face traveling repeatedly to the Bay Area or Los Angeles for specialty care.

Community Health Secures $9 Million for Center of Excellence

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) recently awarded the Community Cancer Institute $9 million to establish the Central Valley Community Care Center of Excellence (CCCE) in regenerative medicine. The center, located on the Clovis Community Medical Center campus, is led by Dr. Haifaa Abdulhaq, Director of Cellular Therapy at Community Cancer Institute.

• Goal: The CCCE will serve as a hub for expanding access to cellular and gene therapy for cancers, sickle cell disease, neurological disorders, and immune-mediated conditions.
• Infrastructure: The provider plans to build a comprehensive local infrastructure for manufacturing and delivering these advanced treatments, including housing a future Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory to produce cell therapies locally.
• Collaboration: The center will partner with UCSF and UC Davis to increase clinical trials in the region and train staff required for these specialized regenerative medical practices.

“Through this CIRM award, we are not only delivering cutting-edge cancer treatments like CAR-T, but we are building a foundation for regenerative medicine that will transform care… right here in the Central Valley,” Dr. Abdulhaq stated.

CAR-T Therapy Now Local: Changing the Game

Clovis Community Medical Center is the first and only center in the Central Valley to offer CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy. This highly advanced treatment involves reprogramming a patient’s own immune cells to identify and attack cancer.

• Local Success: The hospital received its certification last year and successfully performed its first CAR-T transplant earlier this year. The first patient, who had aggressive lymphoma and stated she could not travel for treatment, has been cancer-free for three months and has returned to work.
• Need Addressed: Dr. Abdulhaq noted that many patients previously referred out for these treatments were unable to proceed due to the hardship of travel and logistics. CAR-T is currently FDA approved for patients with relapsed lymphoma, myeloma, and acute leukemia.

Valley Children’s Prepares Pediatric Program

In a parallel development, Valley Children’s Hospital received a historic $15 million donation in May to establish its own advanced cell therapy program for pediatric cancer.

The new program, named The Dr. Vonda Lee Crouse Bone Marrow Transplant and Cell Therapy Program, will offer bone marrow and CAR-T cell therapy to children.

• Impact: Children requiring these advanced, life-saving therapies will soon no longer need to travel long distances, allowing them to receive treatment in a familiar setting with their families nearby.
• Timeline: The pediatric program hopes to be operational by 2030.
• Clinical Efficacy: Dr. Vinod Balasa, Medical Director of Valley Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorder Center, emphasized that CAR-T uses a “targeted treatment” approach, where a child’s own immune system becomes a weapon against cancer, contrasting it with the “shotgun approach” of chemotherapy. A Valley Children’s patient, Royce Madrid, is also now cancer-free after receiving the CAR-T treatment at Stanford.

The integration of care, research, and education between the two institutions is positioning the Central Valley as a crucial regenerative medicine hub, addressing health care equity and bridging the gap between major research institutions and local hospitals.