A recent study involving 71 patients across systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies demonstrated that a single infusion of CAR T cell therapy can support an immune system reset, with 94% of evaluable patients remaining off chronic immunosuppressive therapy.

The therapy induced substantial immune modulation, including robust CAR T cell expansion, complete B cell depletion, and the re-emergence of a naive B cell phenotype.

The safety profile was acceptable, with most adverse events occurring shortly after infusion, being low grade, and resolving quickly; serious adverse events like cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity were transient.

In patients with systemic sclerosis, the therapy led to a median 10% increase in pulmonary function (pFVC) at six months and significant improvements in skin thickness, even after discontinuing prior therapies.

The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies cohort showed that 91% of efficacy-evaluable patients achieved significant improvements in muscle strength, with some experiencing transient neurotoxicity that resolved fully.

In systemic lupus erythematosus patients, 92% remained off immunosuppressants at up to 18 months follow-up, with rapid and sustained reductions in disease activity and manageable adverse events.

Bristol Myers Squibb is advancing its immunology portfolio with ongoing trials for autoimmune diseases like psoriatic arthritis and SLE, and presented early encouraging results from its Phase 1 study of the CD19 NEX-T™ CAR T cell therapy at ACR Convergence 2025.

The company is expanding its cell therapy platform into autoimmune conditions, aiming to replicate success from blood cancers, with ongoing recruitment for further studies.

Early data suggest CAR T cell therapy has the potential to induce long-term remission in autoimmune diseases, broadening the application of cell therapy beyond cancer.