CAR-T Therapy Puts Five NHS Lupus Patients in Remission
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- Five NHS patients with severe lupus entered remission after receiving CAR-T cell therapy in a trial led by University College London hospitals foundation trust (UCLH) and University College London (UCL), with an average follow-up of 11 months.
- CAR-T therapy removes a patient's T-cells, engineers them to identify and destroy diseased cells, and reinfuses them — a single treatment that doctors said could eliminate the need for lifelong lupus medication.
- Nine patients who had not responded to any prior treatments were recruited, most with lupus nephritis; six received a lower dose and three a higher dose, with rapid improvements in kidney function markers observed.
- Katie Tinkler, a 52-year-old former fitness instructor from Guildford, went from being unable to walk or pick up a mug to skiing for the first time in a decade and dancing at her daughter's wedding.
- Prof Karl Peggs, director of UCLH's biomedical research centre, called the findings 'truly groundbreaking' and said a cure for lupus 'may no longer be out of reach' if results hold in larger studies.
- The three higher-dose patients have been followed for only three months so far, but doctors believe they are also on track for remission based on early disease-marker improvements.
Why it matters: All nine trial patients had previously failed every available lupus treatment, meaning CAR-T could become a path to remission for the hardest-to-treat patients who currently face lifelong immunosuppression — but the higher-dose cohort has been observed for just three months and larger trials are needed before the therapy can be offered widely on the NHS.
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