Novartis AG, of Basel, Switzerland, said findings from a pilot study of CTL-119, a humanized CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy, in combination with BTK inhibitor Imbruvica (ibrutinib, Abbvie Inc./Johnson & Johnson) in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), who had been taking ibrutinib for at least six months and who were not in complete remission, showed that eight of nine evaluable patients had no signs of CLL in their bone marrow at three months.