Fatal immune events spur trial pauses at Novartis and BMS

In the case of the Swiss company Novartis, the therapy involved is a personalized cell treatment called rap‑cel (rapcabtagene autoleucel), which is being tested in lupus, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. It is an autologous CAR‑T therapy in which the patient’s own T-cells are extracted, genetically modified and reinfused to attack disease‑causing cells.