The pharmaceutical company Novartis temporarily suspended clinical trials of an experimental cell therapy for autoimmune diseases after the death of three patients. The company stopped recruiting and treating new patients in trials using the drug rapcabtagene autoleucel, known as rap-cel or YTB323, while analyzing safety-related adverse events. The decision was communicated in a statement on Tuesday, confirming news reported by the media.
The drug had been promoted by the Swiss company as having potential to reverse autoimmune diseases. However, market analysts had already shown caution regarding its revenue potential, forecasting only $648 million annually (approximately 3 billion reais) by 2032, according to a Bloomberg research report.
If Novartis decides to abandon the development of the drug for autoimmune diseases, this could impact the general perception about the use of this type of treatment for diseases of the immune system. The deaths recorded did not affect the company's shares, as indicated at the end of the article.
