C-CAR168, an Autologous Anti-CD20/BCMA Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy, in Participants With Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) Refractory to Standard Therapy

October 7, 2026 updated by: AbelZeta Inc.

A Multi-center, Phase 1b Clinical Study of an Autologous Anti-CD20/BCMA Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy (C-CAR168) for the Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) Refractory to Standard Therapy

This Phase 1b, multicenter, open-label study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of a single infusion of autologous anti-CD20/BCMA chimeric antigen receptor T cells (C-CAR168) following lymphodepleting chemotherapy in participants with refractory Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) who are not responding to standard therapy. Approximately 6-12 participants will undergo leukapheresis, lymphodepletion with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, and infusion of C-CAR168. Participants will be followed for 24 months (2 years) to evaluate safety, CAR T-cell persistence, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, biomarkers, and preliminary efficacy results. Long-term safety follow-up for gene therapy-related events will continue for up to 15 years following CAR T-cell infusion.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
12

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Arizona
      • Gilbert, Arizona, United States, 85234
        • Research Site

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Key Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Able to sign and date the Informed Consent Form (ICF).

  2. Female or male, aged 18-70 years (inclusive) with body weight ≥40 kg.

  3. Have a clinical diagnosis of diffuse cutaneous SSc according to the 2013 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) classification.

  4. Disease duration between the onset of the first non-Raynaud's sign/symptom and ICF signing shall be ≤ 6 years.

  5. SSc Disease Activity meet all following criteria:

    1. Modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) ≥15.
    2. Chest High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) shows SSc related ground-glass opacities.
    3. Percent predicted forced vital capacity (ppFVC)<70% or precent predicted (diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide) ppDLco<70%.

  6. Positivity for at least one SSc-specific autoantibodies:

    1. anti-Scl70 antibody.
    2. anti-RNA polymerase III antibody.
    3. anti-centromere antibody.
    4. anti-Th/To antibody.
    5. and anti-U3RNP antibody.

  7. Refractory to at least two prior standard-of-care regimens, including immunosuppressives and/or a biologic note: "Refractory" is defined as receiving each listed drug for ≥6 months with either no response, disease progression after transient remission, or persistent disease progression on treatment.

  8. Ability to taper steroids to protocol allowed doses

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. ppFVC<45% or ppDLco <40%.

  2. Severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) as measured by screening echocardiogram (ECHO), or had documented mean positive airway pressure PAP (mPAP) > 45mmHg on recent right heart catheterization (RHC).

    Note: RHC is not mandatory at screening, however participant with high-risk ECHO findings warrant close clinical vigilance, and participant with mPAP> 45mmHg at baseline shall not proceed with lymphodepletion.

  3. Presence of clinically significant abnormalities on chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) that are UNRELATED to SSc.

  4. Cutaneous sclerosis that impedes venous access required for leukapheresis, lymphodepletion, C-CAR168 infusion, other study procedures and emergency rescue interventions.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: C-CAR168

Participants will receive: • Leukapheresis • Fludarabine • Cyclophosphamide • Single intravenous infusion of C-CAR168
Biological: C-CAR168

Autologous anti-CD20/BCMA chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy administered as a single intravenous infusion

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events
Time Frame: Through Month 24

Incidence and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events, serious adverse events, dose-limiting toxicities, CRS, ICANS, adverse events of special interest, and treatment- or procedure-related adverse events.
Through Month 24

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of Participants Achieving Response
Time Frame: Through Month 24

Proportion of participants achieving a response per the revised Composite Response Index for Systemic Sclerosis (r-CRISS)
Through Month 24
Pharmacokinetics of C-CAR168 Utilizing Flow Cytometry
Time Frame: Through Month 24

Characterize T-cell expansion and persistence utilizing flow cytometry
Through Month 24
Pharmacokinetics of C-CAR168 measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)
Time Frame: Through Month 24

Characterize CAR T-cell expansion and persistence using qPCR
Through Month 24
Proportion of Participants Progressed
Time Frame: Through Month 24

Proportion of participants that progress meeting any of the protocol defined progression criteria
Through Month 24
Time to First Response
Time Frame: Through Month 24

Time to participant meeting first response as defined in the protocol
Through Month 24
Duration of Response (DOR)
Time Frame: Through 24 months

Time of response from first response until progression as defined in the protocol
Through 24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
AbelZeta Inc.

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Yihong Yao, PhD, AbelZeta Inc.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2027

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 2, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 7, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • ABZT-413

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data collected during this study will not be made available to other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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