Are you wondering about CAR T-cell therapy as a new treatment option for myasthenia gravis? There's some exciting news on this front!
A therapy called Descartes-08 has shown promising results in early clinical trials. It's a type of CAR T-cell therapy, which works by collecting a person's own T cells, modifying them in a Show Full Answer
Are you wondering about CAR T-cell therapy as a new treatment option for myasthenia gravis? There's some exciting news on this front!
A therapy called Descartes-08 has shown promising results in early clinical trials. It's a type of CAR T-cell therapy, which works by collecting a person's own T cells, modifying them in a lab to target specific problem cells, and then returning them to the body. What makes Descartes-08 particularly interesting is that it doesn't require chemotherapy beforehand, which is often needed with traditional CAR T-cell approaches. In a Phase 2 study:
- Participants received six weekly outpatient infusions
- Over 80% experienced meaningful symptom improvement
- Benefits lasted at least one year after a single course of treatment
A Phase 3 trial is now underway, so it's worth asking a neurologist whether participation might be an option. Beyond CAR T-cell therapy, there are several other newer treatments available for MG, including:
- Complement inhibitors like zilucoplan (Zilbrysq), eculizumab (Soliris), and ravulizumab-cwvz (Ultomiris)
- Biologics like efgartigimod alfa-fcab (Vyvgart) and rozanolixizumab-noli (Rystiggo)
These work by reducing harmful autoantibody activity. A neurologist specializing in MG can help determine which newer options might be the best fit.
August 13
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