CRISPR Therapeutics Provides Update on Zugocabtagene Geleucel (Zugo-cel) in Refractory Rheumatologic Autoimmune Diseases
Globe Newswire•08/11/2026•10:30 ET
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Key Highlights
- ➤SSc response rate 83% (5/6) at Month 3 with standard lymphodepletion
- ➤All nine IIM patients achieved moderate or major TIS responses
- ➤Two of three evaluable SLE patients maintained drug-free DORIS remission through Month 9
- ➤Zugo-cel tolerated in all 21 patients, with no CRS above Grade 2 or deaths
- ➤Six patients at 200 million CAR+ cells showed higher expansion than 100 million dose
Expert Statements
Naimish Patel, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics
“Patients living with refractory autoimmune diseases such as systemic sclerosis, myositis and lupus often face progressive disease and a lifelong burden of immunosuppressive treatment”
Naimish Patel, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics
“The responses we are seeing across these indications, together with a favorable tolerability profile, are encouraging and reinforce our belief that an off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-T therapy has the potential to offer these patients a meaningful new treatment option”
Naimish Patel, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics
“We are grateful to the patients and investigators participating in this study and look forward to continuing to advance zugo-cel”
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) data presented at ACR Convergence 2026 showed 83% (5/6) of patients receiving standard lymphodepletion achieved a clinical response (rCRISS-25) at Month 3, with all responders maintaining response
Zugo-cel has been well tolerated in all 21 patients dosed to date, with no cytokine release syndrome (CRS) above Grade 2 and no immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) or immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-like syndrome (IEC-HS)
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