New clinical trials test NKX019 cell therapy in autoimmune diseases

New clinical trials test NKX019 cell therapy in autoimmune diseases

Two Phase 1/2 clinical trials testing NKX019 — Nkarta’s cell therapy candidate — are now enrolling participants to test a second, higher dose in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other autoimmune conditions. The Ntrust-2 study (NCT06733935) is enrolling up to 144 people with AAV, idiopathic inflammatory…

Researchers identify markers of kidney disease common in AAV

Most people who test positive for ANCAs — the self-reactive antibodies that drive most ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) cases — have pauci-immune glomerulonephritis (GN), a type of inflammation of the kidneys’ filtering units, a study found. A high number of blood-clotting-inducing platelets, high blood levels of the inflammatory marker…

Tavneos combo works as well as steroids for AAV remission

Similar rates of remission and sustained remission were found for people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) given induction treatment with cyclophosphamide and Tavneos (avacopan) in a clinical trial compared with those receiving cyclophosphamide plus the glucocorticoid prednisone. Still, the Tavneos-based treatment regimen appeared to be associated with a lower…

AAV linked to higher risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are at a higher risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC), the most common form of skin cancer, but not other types of cancer, according to a long-term follow-up study in Europe. The use of the immunosuppressive therapy azathioprine, longer azathioprine treatment, and being…

Worse prognosis for AAV patients with pulmonary renal syndrome

Having pulmonary renal syndrome (PRS), a potentially life-threatening condition marked by lung and kidney problems, is associated with a higher risk of severe complications in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a new study reports. After accounting for starting differences in kidney function, AAV patients with PRS had a six…