JUNE 1, 2018 / 5:10 PM
CHICAGO (Reuters) -
Patients with advanced multiple myeloma treated with bluebird bio’s
experimental immunotherapy lived for a median of nearly a year before their
cancer worsened, according to data from a small study presented on Friday.
Nick Leschly, CEO of bluebird, speaks in Houston, Texas, U.S.,
April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Kramer
The treatment, called
bb2121, belongs to a hot new therapy class called CAR-T that harvests a
patient’s own disease-fighting T-cells, genetically modifies them in a
laboratory so they target specific proteins on cancer cells and infuses them
back into the patient.
Last year, two CAR-T
therapies from Novartis and Gilead Sciences were the first to be approved for
other blood cancers.
Patients in bluebird’s
Phase I study had received on average seven prior treatments, including the
newest multiple myeloma drugs, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex. They
had also undergone at least one stem cell transplant before receiving bb2121,
which is being developed with Celgene Corp..
Such heavily treated
patients would normally be expected to live for around four months before their
disease progressed, bluebird Chief Executive Officer Nick Leschly told Reuters.
For the 22 patients
receiving bb2121, the median progression-free survival was 11.8 months,
according to data presented at the annual American Society for Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago. The median duration of response was 10.8
months, researchers reported.
For more coverage of
ASCO, see: here
Bluebird and Celgene
earlier this year began enrolling 80 patients for a larger study in multiple
myeloma. They aim to file for U.S. regulatory approval for bb2121 next year.
The bluebird CAR-T
treatment targets a protein known as BCMA, but the trial found no correlation
between levels of the protein on cancer cells and response to the therapy.
“You really don’t need
a companion diagnostic. We are seeing comparable anti-tumor activity regardless
of the level of BCMA expression,” Leschly said.
Bluebird and Celgene
expect to eventually test their CAR-T in patients with earlier-stage myeloma,
he said.
Two trial patients
experienced serious cytokine release syndrome, a known side effect of CAR-T
therapies that can usually be brought under control. The most common serious
side effect seen in the trial was neutropenia, or very low white blood cell
count, researchers said.
Reporting By Deena
Beasley; Editing by Bill Berkrot
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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