CAR T-cell therapy shows early promise in severe lupus

Early results from a UCL- and UCLH-led clinical trial suggest that a type of CAR T-cell therapy—developed by Autolus Therapeutics, a UCL spinout—could offer a new treatment approach for people with severe, treatment-resistant lupus.

The findings, presented at the EULAR European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2026), come from the ongoing Phase I CARLYSLE study, which is evaluating obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel) in patients with severe refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The early data indicate that the therapy has a favorable safety profile and may lead to meaningful improvements in disease activity. ...