Pioneering trial for severe autoimmune disease begins at Oxford University Hospitals
The study is investigating a new treatment for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis
A pioneering clinical trial investigating a new treatment for severe autoimmune disease has begun at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH).
The Oxford Experimental Medicine Clinical Research Facility has recruited its first two patients to the CHILL trial, which is testing an innovative cell therapy for conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma.
It is the first time Oxford has delivered a trial of this type of engineered cell therapy for autoimmune disease outside of blood disorders and cancer treatment.
How does the treatment work?
The trial is investigating a treatment using specially engineered immune cells known as regulatory T cells, or Tregs.
These cells normally help prevent the immune system from attacking the body's own tissues and keep inflammation under control.
Experts have engineered the cells with a receptor designed to help them target areas of inflammation, restore balance to the immune system and reduce the harmful immune activity that drives disease.
Cushla Cooper, Clinical Operational Lead for the Oxford Experimental Medicine Clinical Research Facility, said administering the treatment to the first patient was a significant milestone.
"We are only the second site globally to do so. After many forms, and rigorous safety checks along the way, the patient received their dose, which took around 10 minutes," she said.
"The nursing team reported the patient tolerated it well and was discharged home the following day."
Hopes for future treatment
Delivering the trial has required teams across OUH to work together to develop new patient pathways and ensure the treatment can be administered safely.
This has included support from specialist haematology teams alongside pharmacy staff responsible for receiving, storing and preparing the cell treatment.
Professor Christopher Buckley, Chief Investigator for the CHILL study and Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Facility in Oxford, said the research could offer new hope for people living with severe autoimmune disease.
"People living with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis dream of a cure," he said.
He explained that while some existing engineered cell therapies work by killing disease-causing cells, the new approach aims to regulate the immune system instead.
Professor Buckley added: "We believe engineered nTregs - natural regulators of tissue immune responses - could achieve safe, deep and durable disease control and move us closer to the prospect of a cure."