In an oral abstract presentation on Wednesday 3rd June, Fredrik Albach presented results for mivocabtagene autoleucel – an autologous, fully human CD19-directed CAR-T cell therapy – from Phase 1 of the prospective, open-label COMPARE trial in six patients with anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive, treatment-refractory active rheumatoid arthritis.

It’s time for Rheumatology RoundUp from EULAR 2026 from London, UK. Drs. Artie Kavanaugh and Jack Cush review their choice presentations from the meeting, offering their perspectives on impact and applicability.

CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy has rapidly moved into autoimmune disease, driven in large part by striking reports in SLE, where sustained drug-free remission has raised the possibility of a true immune reset. In RA, where multiple effective therapeutic classes already exist, the relevance of such deep immune interventions remains uncertain.

Five years on, are we closer to licensing of the first CAR-T therapy in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD)?