What Is It Used For?

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is an innovative cellular therapy licensed, developed, and marketed by THERAKOS, a Johnson & Johnson company headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, USA. The therapy was first applied to patients with refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a type of blood cancer in which lymphocytes - or white blood cells - become cancerous and affect the skin.

In the initial studies, 73% of patients with refractory CTCL responded with a 64% decrease in skin manifestations after 22 weeks (±10 weeks) of photopheresis therapy. The introduction of THERAKOS photopheresis represented a significant expansion of the treatment options for this serious and potentially life-threatening disease. While there is no cure for CTCL, photopheresis has demonstrated the ability to significantly improve patient survival and overall quality of life.

The therapy has been proven effective in well over half a million treatments in the United States and Europe, with an unparalleled safety and side effects profile. THERAKOS photopheresis is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and in many other countries around the world for the palliative treatment of the skin manifestations of CTCL.