Cartesian Therapeutics has announced the success of a clinical trial for RNA cell therapy in autoimmunity. The study, published in The Lancet Neurology, used rCAR-T therapy to treat patients with myasthenia gravis and demonstrated long-lasting clinical improvement without toxicities. This is the first successful Phase 2 trial using an engineered cell therapy to treat autoimmunity, and it may be useful in treating other autoimmune diseases.
Cartesian Therapeutics has developed a safe and personalized RNA-engineered chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (rCAR-T) called Descartes-08 that can be administered as an outpatient treatment. Compared to conventional DNA-based CAR T-cell therapies, rCAR-T does not require lymphodepletion chemotherapy, has predictable pharmacokinetics, and avoids the risk of genomic integration. Cartesian operates a cGMP manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg, MD.
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by disabling muscle weakness and fatigue caused by antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor on nerve cells that play a key role in muscle contraction.