Clinical Research Directory

Descartes-08 in Autoantibody Myositis

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of an autologous T-cells expressing a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) directed to B-Cell maturation antigen (BCMA) in patients with autoantibody-mediated myositis, including antisynthetase syndrome (ASyS) and dermatomyositis (DM).

A Study to Assess the Long-term Safety and Efficacy of a Subcutaneous Formulation of Efgartigimod in Adults With Active Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy

The main purpose of this study is to measure the long-term safety and tolerability of efgartigimod PH20 SC in adult participants with Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy (IIM) who previously participated in ARGX-113-2007. The study consists of a treatment period where participants will receive efgartigimod PH20 SC for up to 51 months. The treatment period will be followed by a treatment-free safety follow-up period of 56 days.

Add-on Intravenous Immunoglobulins in Early Myositis

In patients with myositis early immunomodulation by intensive treatment ("hit-early/hit-hard" principle) may induce faster reduction of disease activity and prevent chronic disability. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in addition to standard treatment with glucocorticoids may be beneficial for this purpose: add-on IVIg improved symptoms in steroid-resistant myositis, and first-line monotherapy IVIg led to a fast and clinically relevant response in a pilot study in nearly 50% of patients with myositis.

A Study on the Efficacy and Safety of JAK Inhibitors Versus Calcineurin Inhibitors as Initial Therapy for Interstitial Lung Disease Associated With Antisynthetase Syndrome

This study is a prospective investigation comparing the efficacy and safety of Janus kinase inhibitors versus calcineurin inhibitors as initial therapy for interstitial lung disease associated with antisynthetase syndrome. The goal is to determine which treatment is more effective at improving lung function and preventing disease progression, while comparing their safety profiles. The findings will help provide clearer treatment guidance for doctors and patients.

A Study to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of Efgartigimod PH20 SC in Adult Participants With Active Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy.

This study's purpose is to measure the treatment response from efgartigimod PH20 SC compared with placebo in participants with Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy (IIM). Participants with the IIM subtypes of dermatomyositis (DM), immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), or certain other subtypes of polymyositis (PM; including antisynthetase syndrome \[ASyS\]) will be included in the study. Treatment response will be measured by Total improvement score (TIS). Additional information can be found on https://myositis-study.com/.

An Exploratory Clinical Study of CD19 CAR NK Cells for the Treatment of Refractory Antisynthetase Antibody Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis

A single-center, open-label dose-escalation design to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 3 infusions of anti CD19 CAR NK cells (KN5501), as well as the expansion and persistence of KN5501 in patients with refractory antisynthetase antibody syndrome (ASyS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA); To evaluate the ability of KN5501 to clear CD19-positive B cells in patients to determine the feasibility of KN5501 for the treatment of refractory ASyS and or RA.

Evaluation of Circulating Neutrophils in Antisynthetase Syndrome

Antisynthetase syndrome (ASyS) is a rare and heteregeneous overlapping connective tissue disease, characterized by myositis, interstitial lung disease (ILD), joint involvement, Raynaud's phenomenon and cutaneous manifestations ("mechanic's hands"). Over 50% of patients develop ILD, which is the leading cause of death. The role of neutrophils - innate immune cells involved in inflammatory processes and induced in particular by cytokines of the Th17 pathway - during AS is unknown. Direct pathogenic role of neutrophils has been described during idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, with an increase of netosis correlated with disease activity and muscle damage. During ASyS, a higher number of alveolar neutrophils has been observed in patients with rapidly progressive ILD. There are few data on the specific evaluation of circulating neutrophils in ASyS. Investigators suppose that circulating neutrophils level could represent a simple and accessible severity biomarker in patients with ASyS. The main objective is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the circulating neutrophils level (\> 7000/mm3) at diagnosis on ASyS severity. The secondary objectives are: * to define a threshold for circulating neutrophils levels at diagnosis allowing to predict ASyS severity and to assess the diagnostic performance of this threshold. * to study the correlation between the level of circulating neutrophils and ASyS severity at diagnosis of the disease. * to compare the circulating neutrophils level at ASyS diagnosis and after 1 year of treatment. * to compare patients characteristics according to ASyS severity at diagnosis. * to compare BAL fluid neutrophils level according to ILD severity at ASyS diagnosis in patients with ILD.

Evaluation of Antigen-specific T Cells in Patients With Antisynthetase Syndrome and Interstitial Lung Disease

Antisynthetase syndrome (AS) is a rare overlapping myositis characterized by cellular and humoral autoimmune responses directed against aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Intesrtitial lung disease (ILD) is a leading cause of mortality in antisynthetase syndrome. Recently, antigen-specific IFN-γ+ CD4+ T cells have been identified in bronchoalveolar fluid (BAL) of patients with antisynthetase syndrome and ILD. Elevated levels of IL1β, IL12, IL18, TNFα, IL17A, IL22 have also been detected in peripheral blood of AS patients, especially those with progressive ILD. Implication of innate lymphoid cells (ILC) and mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAIT) have not yet been studied in patients with AS. Targeted therapies against Th1 and Th17 cells may represent a promising treatment in patients AS patients with ILD. Investigators suppose that antigen-specific Th1 and Th17 cells, ILC and MAIT at ILD diagnosis are associated with ILD severity at diagnosis and could predict treatment response at 6 months. The main objective is to study the correlation between BAL antigen-specific Th1 and Th17 cells at ILD diagnosis and clinical evolution after 6 months of treatment according to initial ILD severity.