Patient Death Reported in Bristol Myers Squibb Autoimmune Study -- WSJ

By Alex Janin

A patient in Bristol Myers Squibb's multiple sclerosis study died after taking its experimental cell therapy, the company said Friday. The stock fell 2.4%.

The patient who died started having movement-related problems after receiving the infusion and died 44 days after receiving the drug, the company said. The patient died of septic pneumonia after taking a drug to combat the effects of the original medication.

The company disclosed the death in an announcement about early data from its research on the CAR-T therapy, called "zola-cel," which it is studying in autoimmune diseases such as lupus and MS. Bristol Myers said the small, early-stage study showed promising signs that the treatment could help control multiple sclerosis, a lifelong condition that can cause muscle weakness and balance problems, but revealed a dangerous neurological side effect and this death.

Bristol Myers paused all studies of this therapy in autoimmune conditions this summer over concerns about a neurological reaction to the CAR-T called ICANS.

The company's president of cell therapy, Lynelle Hoch, called the death "confounding" because movement problems are not normally seen in this type of cell therapy. Researchers are looking into other factors that may have contributed. Hoch said Bristol Myers traced the earlier ICANS safety problems to a change in a substance used to manufacture the therapy and plans to restart trials early next year using its original formula.

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October 23, 2026 16:22 ET (20:22 GMT)