CAR-T beyond cancer? Novartis and others say yes

A quiet revolution is under way in Car-T therapy, and it has nothing to do with oncology. The low-hanging fruit on that particular tree having now been picked, numerous companies are betting that autoimmune diseases could open up a new avenue of revenue generation – apparently on the strength of an academic paper.

Perhaps the strongest signal here was sent by Novartis, whose chief executive, Vas Narasimhan, recently called autoimmune conditions “our top priority for Car-T therapy. We are putting immunology ahead of [lymphoma] and multiple myeloma.” For biotech investors looking at this space the most relevant stock to watch is Cabaletta Bio, but there are others too.