China-based IASO Biotechnology has announced that it has received Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explore the potential of its BCMA-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, Fucaso (equecabtagene autoleucel), in treating multiple sclerosis (MS). This marks the second IND nod for the CAR-T therapy in the US for an autoimmune disease, following an earlier approval for refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) .
Fucaso is under co-development with Innovent Biologics, Inc. (HKG: 1801), a leading biopharmaceutical company based in China. The two companies have already secured a market approval for the CAR-T therapy from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on June 30, 2023, for the treatment of relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) in patients who have undergone at least three lines of prior treatment .
This development highlights the growing interest in exploring the potential of CAR-T therapies beyond oncology and into autoimmune diseases, which could significantly expand the treatment options available to patients suffering from these debilitating conditions.- Flcube.com
