Start of several clinical trials on CAR-T cell therapy for autoimmune diseases at Magdeburg University Hospital
Start of several clinical trials on CAR-T cell therapy for autoimmune diseases at Magdeburg University Hospital
First patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) treated as part of CAR-T trials in Magdeburg – Magdeburg University Hospital becomes a trial centre for cellular therapies.
At Magdeburg University Medical Centre (UMMD), two patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) were treated with CAR-T cell therapy for the first time as part of clinical trials and in collaboration with the Helios Fachklinik Vogelsang-Gommern. UMMD is thus one of the first study centres in Germany to research this innovative approach to the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases as part of a controlled clinical trial.
CAR-T cell therapy is based on genetically modified T cells that specifically target and eliminate disease-causing immune cells. This study treatment is based on current findings from pioneering work on immune cell therapy for autoimmune diseases – including significant contributions from the team led by Prof. Dimitrios Mougiakakos, Director of the Clinic for Haematology, Oncology and Cell Therapy at UMMD.
Prof. Mougiakakos emphasises the importance of the research and explains: ‘This is a major step forward – my compliments to the entire team, which has created the conditions for these complex clinical studies here in Magdeburg in such a short time. We hope to be able to treat more patients from Saxony-Anhalt and beyond in the future.’
Photo: (from left) Prof. Dr. med. Eugen Feist, Head of Experimental Rheumatology at Magdeburg University Hospital and Chief Physician at the Clinic for Rheumatology and Immunology at Helios Fachklinik Vogelsang-Gommern; Prof. Dimitrios Mougiakakos, Director of the Clinic for Haematology, Oncology and Cell Therapy at UMMD, and Senior Physician Dr Mirjeta Berisha. Photographer: Melitta Schubert/UMMD
The conduct of these early clinical trials also marks the establishment of the UMMD as an official study centre for cellular immunotherapies – a strategic advance for the location, which is supported by ERDF funding as part of the ZELLTHEMA research project, among other things. This has created the personnel and structural conditions necessary to conduct complex early-phase clinical trials. The aim is to clinically test modern cell therapies and, in the long term, contribute to the approval and widespread availability of this form of treatment.
"We are hoping for an immunological reboot – CAR-T cell therapy could establish itself as a promising treatment option for autoimmune diseases that are difficult to treat. It is a major step forward that we can give our patients access to therapies that go beyond today's medical standard," emphasises Prof. Dr. med. habil. Eugen Feist, Head of Experimental Rheumatology at Magdeburg University Hospital and Chief Physician at the Clinic for Rheumatology and Immunology at Helios Fachklinik Vogelsang-Gommern.
The patients were treated at the CAR-T therapy unit, which was set up specifically for research purposes. The treatment is part of an interdisciplinary study project supported by collaboration between the departments of haematology, oncology and cell therapy, rheumatology and transfusion medicine.
"We have invested a lot of energy in establishing and expanding our study capacities – it is very fulfilling to see that we have now been able to treat the first patients. Now, of course, we are keeping our fingers crossed that the therapy will be successful and that the patients will be able to live symptom-free and without further medication in the future," says Dr Mirjeta Berisha, senior physician at the Clinic for Haematology, Oncology and Cell Therapy Magdeburg and head of the study unit.
In recent years, the UMMD has already broken new therapeutic ground with internationally acclaimed individualised treatment trials for rare autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). With the start of the first CAR-T studies in rheumatological autoimmune diseases, the next phase is now beginning with the aim of making cellular immunotherapies clinically available in the field of autoimmune medicine in the long term.
The treatment of patients with autoimmune diseases such as SLE, systemic sclerosis, IIM or myasthenia gravis is currently being tested in clinical trials and is expected to be expanded to include other indications such as multiple sclerosis, as is the range of trials on offer.
Anyone interested in participating in a CAR-T cell therapy trial is welcome to contact us.
Contact:
OÄ Dr. Mirjeta Berisha (CAR-T cell therapy)
mirjeta.berisha@med.ovgu.de or khae-studien@med.ovgu.de
Phone: +49 391 67-13266
Prof. Dr. med. Eugen Feist (Second opinions and/or CAR-T cell therapy)
Phone: +49 39200 67-300