Autolus Initiates Phase I Trial of CAR T-Cell Therapy for Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

LONDON, U.K. — October 21, 2025 — Autolus Therapeutics today announced a significant milestone in its clinical development, having administered the first dose of its investigational CAR T-cell therapy, obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel), to a participant in the Phase I BOBCAT trial for progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The treatment was delivered at the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), a key development partner for the trial.

Targeting Refractory Progressive MS

The BOBCAT trial is an open-label, dose-escalation study designed to recruit up to 18 adult participants with refractory progressive MS—a debilitating form of the disease with limited treatment options, particularly for those whose condition continues to worsen despite current B-cell targeting therapies.

• Mechanism of Action: Obe-cel is a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy engineered to target the CD19 antigen found on B-lymphocytes. Autolus highlights the therapy’s unique “fast-off rate” CAR mechanism as being well-suited to suppressing both systemic autoimmune pathways and CNS-compartmentalized inflammation driving the disease.
• Trial Endpoints: The primary goal of the Phase I trial is to assess the safety and tolerability of obe-cel. Secondary objectives include gathering preliminary data on biological effects and efficacy by measuring changes in standard MS metrics.

Hope for a One-Time Treatment

Experts believe this approach holds transformative potential for progressive MS patients.

Wallace Brownlee, UCLH consultant neurologist and trial principal investigator, stated that obe-cel’s mechanism “holds the promise of suppressing both autoimmune and CNS-compartmentalised inflammatory pathways.” He added that if successful in clinical trials, obe-cel “could transform outcomes for progressive MS patients with a one-time treatment.”

Dr. Matthias Will, Chief Development Officer at Autolus, called dosing the first patient an “important milestone for Autolus and the MS community,” underscoring the potential of obe-cel to address aberrant immune pathways in progressive MS patients.