Oxford recruits first patients to experimental autoimmune cell therapy study

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recruited its first patients to an early-stage trial testing an engineered cell therapy for severe autoimmune diseases.

The CHILL trial will study the treatment in conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma. Two participants have been recruited in Oxford after the first patient was treated at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The therapy uses engineered regulatory T cells, which ordinarily help control inflammation and prevent the immune system from attacking healthy tissue. Researchers hope the modified cells can travel to inflamed areas, restore immune balance and reduce the damaging activity responsible for disease.

This is the first engineered cell therapy trial for autoimmune disease delivered in Oxford outside cancer and blood services. However, the research remains at an early stage and will need to establish the treatment’s safety and effectiveness before its wider potential becomes clear.

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