Autolus breaks new ground: first MS patient dosed in obe-cel Phase 1 trial

UCLB spinout Autolus Therapeutics has announced a major milestone: the first patient dosed in its Phase 1 BOBCAT trial of obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel), a ‘one-time’ immunotherapy treatment for progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS).

Emily Henders, who has had relapsing MS for four years, was among 18 patients in the trial who were given an infusion of their own T-cells, modified to recognise and hunt down rogue elements in their immune system which are the underlying cause of the condition.

The trial, which took place at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), marks a significant expansion of Autolus’s next-generation CAR T cell therapy platform, originally developed at UCL, into the field of autoimmune disease.

The trial, led by UCLH consultant neurologist Dr. Wallace Brownlee, will assess the safety, tolerability, and early efficacy of obe-cel in up to 18 adults with refractory progressive MS. If successful, this could open a new chapter in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, leveraging the same innovative CAR T cell platform that has already provided hope for blood cancer patients.

Dr. Anne Lane, CEO of UCLB, said: “This is a major milestone for Autolus, offering real hope for the nearly three million people with multiple sclerosis worldwide. It’s proof that supporting academics to take their great research from the lab to the market benefits us all. It’s also a clear demonstration of how university innovation fuels our world-leading life sciences ecosystem, delivering for patients and driving the UK’s future economic growth.”

Dr. Claire Roddie, Associate Professor, Oncology, Research Department of Haematology at UCL, who was involved in designing the treatment, said it was one of the most significant developments in her clinical lifetime: “If we can intervene with something that essentially reaches deep into all the areas of the body where the disease-causing cells are, and eradicate them, it is almost like flicking a switch,” she said. “You get this immune [system] reset where the bad B cells don’t recover, and you get just normal B cells.”

Dr. Brownlee, added: “If successful in clinical trials, obe-cel could transform outcomes for PMS patients with a one-time treatment. This is an extremely exciting prospect, and I look forward to participating in the study so we can explore obe-cel’s potential in this devastating disease.”

Read the full story here.

A model for spinout success

Autolus Therapeutics was founded by Dr Martin Pule, based at UCL Cancer Institute, and, with the support of UCLB, was spun out in 2014.

It has since raised over $1.2bn, with most of this invested in the UK, that includes a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, The Nucleus in Stevenage, employing 450 people.

This recent development is the latest in a series of Autolus success stories. This month, UCL spinouts were revealed among the top in the UK for investment, with Autolus securing the largest equity investment of the year and the decade.

In July 2025, meanwhile, Autolus received European Commission marketing authorisation for its next-generation CAR T cell therapy to treat adults with aggressive blood cancer, following earlier approvals in the UK (from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)) and US.

To learn more about CAR T cell therapy, see UCLB’s explainer feature.

See Sky News’ coverage of the story below: