The Dawn of a New Era: CAR T Cell Therapy and the Future of Lupus Treatment

Systemic lupus erythematosus affects approximately 1.5 million Americans and at least five million people worldwide. This chronic autoimmune disorder occurs when the body's own B cells mistakenly produce antibodies that attack healthy tissue, leading to inflammation and damage across multiple organ systems. Traditional treatments have relied on lifelong immunosuppressive medications that manage symptoms but never offer a cure. That is finally beginning to change.

CAR T cell therapy, originally developed to treat blood cancers, is now showing remarkable promise for autoimmune diseases like lupus. The process involves collecting a patient's T cells, genetically engineering them in a laboratory to recognize and eliminate B cells, and then infusing them back into the patient. These modified cells seek out and destroy the B cells responsible for producing harmful autoantibodies. When B cells eventually regenerate, they appear to emerge fresh, without the autoimmune programming that previously caused disease.

The clinical results have been extraordinary. In studies published over the past two years, patients with severe, treatment resistant lupus have achieved sustained remission after a single infusion. One landmark study found that after a median follow up of 15 months, all lupus patients achieved remission and completely stopped immunosuppressive therapy. Research from Germany has shown some participants remaining in remission up to three years after treatment. A systematic review analyzing 145 patients across 16 studies confirmed these findings, with the majority achieving deep remission and discontinuing all other medications.

While CAR T cell therapy is not yet approved for lupus in the United States, clinical trials are expanding rapidly. For millions living with this disease, the possibility of a treatment free future is becoming real.

At Immunaeon, we believe these advances underscore the importance of proactive health planning. The success of CAR T cell therapy depends fundamentally on the quality of the T cells used to create the treatment. Cells collected from patients after years of immunosuppressive therapy may be less effective than healthy cells preserved at their peak. By storing your immune cells today through advanced cryopreservation, you create a biological resource that could prove invaluable as these revolutionary therapies become available.

The future of immunotherapy is here. Contact Immunaeon to learn how immune cell storage can help you prepare for tomorrow's treatments.

Müller, F., Taubmann, J., Bucci, L., Wilhelm, A., Bergmann, C., Völkl, S., Aigner, M., Rothe, T., Minopoulou, I., Tur, C., Knitza, J., Kharboutli, S., Kretschmann, S., Vasova, I., Spoerl, S., Reimann, H., Munoz, L., Gerlach, R. G., Schäfer, S., ... Schett, G. (2024). CD19 CAR T cell therapy in autoimmune disease: A case series with follow up. New England Journal of Medicine, 390(8), 687–700. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2308917

Mackensen, A., Müller, F., Mougiakakos, D., Böltz, S., Wilhelm, A., Aigner, M., Völkl, S., Simon, D., Kleyer, A., Munoz, L., Kretschmann, S., Kharboutli, S., Gary, R., Reimann, H., Rösler, W., Uderhardt, S., Bang, H., Herrmann, M., Ekici, A. B., ... Schett, G. (2022). Anti CD19 CAR T cell therapy for refractory systemic lupus erythematosus. Nature Medicine, 28(10), 2124–2132. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02017-5

Nordmann Gomes, A., et al. (2025). CAR T cell therapy in SLE: A systematic review. Journal of Autoimmunity [Article in press]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaut.2025.103157