Lab-Grown immune cells take aim at Life-Threatening viruses in vulnerable patients
NCT ID NCT06027879
First seen Jun 29, 2026 · Last updated Jun 30, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether specially grown immune cells can fight three common viruses—adenovirus, CMV, and EBV—in people whose immune systems are weak due to a stem cell or organ transplant, or an inherited immune disorder. The cells are made from a donor's blood and trained to recognize and attack the virus. The goal is to see if this treatment is safe and can clear the infection when standard therapies have failed.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- virus-specific T cells made using gamma capture technology
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this approach could offer a faster, more affordable way to treat dangerous viral infections in people with compromised immune systems, potentially saving lives.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with only 25 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. There is a risk of graft-versus-host disease or other immune reactions.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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About 25 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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1 month to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patient, parent, or legal guardian must have given written informed consent, according to FDA guidelines. For pediatric subject who are developmentally able, assent or affirmation will be obtained, if feasible. 2. Male or female, 1 month through 75 years old, inclusive, at the time of informed consent. 3. Prior allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, single or double cord blood), OR prior solid organ transplant (liver, kidney, lung and/or heart, intestinal, or multivisceral), OR diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency OR current/recent administration of immunosuppressive therapy for cancer or autoimmune disease. 4. Negative pregnancy test for females ≥10 years old or who have reached menarche, unless surgically sterilized. All females of childbearing potential and lactation must agree to use an FDA approved method of birth control for the duration of their participation. 5. Clinical status, at the time of consent, amendable to tapering of steroids to less than 1 mg/kg/day prednisone (or equivalent) prior to cellular infusion. 6. Diagnosis of Adenovirus, CMV, or EBV infection, persistent despite standard therapy. A. Adenovirus Infection or Disease: 1. Active adenovirus infection: (i.e. gastroenteritis, pneumonia, hemorrhagic cystitis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, meningitis) defined as the demonstration of adenovirus by biopsy specimen from affected site(s) (by culture or histology), or the detection of adenovirus by culture, PCR or direct fluorescent antibody stain in fluid in the presence of worsening or persistent clinical or imaging findings despite at least 14 days of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. cidofovir, brincidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR 2. Refractory adenoviremia: defined as DNAemia \>5000 copies/mL or \<1 log decrease after at least 2 weeks of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. cidofovir, brincidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR 3. Intolerance of or contraindication to antiviral medications. B.CMV Infection or Disease: 1. Active CMV infection: (i.e. pneumonia, meningitis, retinitis, hepatitis, hemorrhagic cystitis, and/or gastroenteritis) defined as the demonstration of CMV by biopsy specimen from affected site(s) (by culture or histology) or the detection of CMV by culture, PCR or direct fluorescent antibody stain in fluid in the presence of worsening or persistent clinical or imaging findings despite at least 14 days of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. Foscarnet, ganciclovir, cidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR 2. Refractory CMV viremia: defined as the continued presence of DNAemia, with ≥2,000 IU/mL or \<1 log decrease after at least 14 days of appropriate antiviral therapy (i.e. Foscarnet, ganciclovir, cidofovir, or other available pharmacological agents) OR 3. Intolerance of or contraindication to antiviral medications. C. EBV Infection or Disease: 1. Biopsy proven lymphoma or posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease with EBV genomes detected in tumor cells by immunocytochemistry (i.e. EBER positive) or in situ PCR, OR 2. Clinical or imaging findings consistent with EBV lymphoma and associated elevated EBV viral load in peripheral blood in a patient where biopsy is deemed too high risk, OR 3. Failure of antiviral therapy, as determined by one of the two bullets below after three weeks of anti-CD20 targeted therapy such as Rituximab. i. There was an increase or less than 50% response at sites of lymphoma disease or lymphoproliferation. ii. There was a rise or a fall of less than 50% in EBV viral load in peripheral blood of PTLD patients. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Received Antithymocyte Globulin (ATG) or Alemtuzumab within 28 days of viral-specific T cell infusion and a lack of evidence of T cell survival, defined by \<10 CD3+ T cells/uL (in unique situations, plasmapheresis may be considered). 2. Active acute GVHD grades II-IV. 3. Received donor lymphocyte infusion, with the exception of a fraction of an umbilical cord blood, within 14 days of viral-specific T cell infusion. Subjects receiving a fraction of an umbilical cord blood within 14 days of the viral-specific T cell infusion will not be excluded. 4. Active and uncontrolled relapse of malignancy (other than EBV+ post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder or lymphoma). 5. Received an investigational product in the preceding 2 weeks (prior to infusion) that may impact Viral Specific T-cells (VST) survival. 6. Females of child bearing potential must not be lactating. 7. Past or current medical problems or findings from physical examination or laboratory testing that are not listed above, which, in the opinion of the investigator, may pose additional risks to participation in the study, may interfere with the participant's ability to comply with study requirements, or that may impact the quality or interpretation of the data obtained from the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15224, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Banked t cells target four viruses at once in children after transplant
- The Little-Known virus that may rival RSV and flu in older adults
- Can we outsmart Drug-Resistant CMV in transplant patients?
- Can we map CMV's spread in daycares to shield future pregnancies?
- Can immune cells predict herpesvirus danger in transplant patients?
- Can a new immune drug outsmart Hard-to-Treat tumors?