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A biologics license application has been submitted to the FDA for idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel; bb2121) for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least 3 prior therapies, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 antibody.
A biologics license application (BLA) has been submitted to the FDA for idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel; bb2121) for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least 3 prior therapies, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor and an anti-CD38 antibody, according to Bristol Myers Squibb and bluebird bio, Inc., the co-developers of the BCMA-directed CAR T-cell immunotherapy.1
The BLA is supported by data from the phase II KarMMA trial (NCT03361748), in which idecabtagene vicleucel induced an overall response rate (ORR) of 73.4% in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, meeting the primary endpoint of the trial.
Topline results from the trial showed that across the target dose levels of 150 to 450 x 106 CAR T cells, the complete response (CR) rate was 31.3%, the median duration of response (DOR) was 10.6 months, and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.6 months. Additional findings will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.
Ide-cel is a BCMA-targeting CAR T cell therapy, which is expressed on the surface of normal and malignant plasma cells. In November 2017, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation to ide-cel based on the preliminary data from the phase I CRB-401 trial.
In updated findings of the phase I CRB-401 trial, ide-cel induced a median PFS of 11.8 months and a median DOR of 10.8 months in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory disease.2 Additionally, the ORR was 95.5%, the CR or stringent CR rate was 50%, and 36.4% of patients had a very good partial response. In contrast, patients treated with an inactive dose (50 x 106) had an ORR of 33.3% and a 1.9-month median duration of response.
In the open-label, single-arm, multicenter, phase II KarMMa trial, investigators evaluated the efficacy and safety of ide-cel in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in North America and Europe. A total 140 patients were enrolled, and 128 patients were treated with the agent across the target dose levels: 150 x 106 CAR T cells (n = 4), 300 x 106 CAR T cells (n = 70), and 450 x 106 CAR T cells (n = 54).
All patients who received treatment had received ≥3 prior therapies, including an immunomodulatory agent, proteasome inhibitor, and a CD38-directed antibody; all patients were refractory to their last regimen. A total 94% of patients were refractory to a CD38-directed antibody while 84% of patients were refractory to all 3 classes of agents.
The primary endpoint was ORR as assessed by an independent review committee according to International Myeloma Working Group criteria, and the key secondary endpoint was CR rate; additional secondary endpoints overall survival, minimal residual disease, and also DOR and PFS across the target dose levels and at each of the 3 target doses.
At a median follow-up of 11.3 months, results showed that for patients treated at the 150 x 106 CAR T-cell dose, the ORR was 50.0% with a 25% CR rate; the median DOR and PFS were not reported due to the small number of evaluable patients. In the 300 x 106 CAR T-cell cohort, the ORR was 68.6%, along with a 28.6% CR rate; the median DOR was 9.9 months, and the median PFS was 5.8 months. Finally, at the 450 x 106 dose, the ORR was 81.5%, the CR rate was 35.2%, and the median DOR and PFS were both 11.3 months.
Regarding safety, the results were consistent with what was observed in the phase I CRB-401 trial. Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurred in 5.5% of patients, and 1 death occurred due to a CRS event; grade ≥3 neurotoxicity events occurred in 3.1% of patients; no grade 4 events were reported. Additionally, grade ≥3 CRS and neurotoxicity events were reported in <6% of each target dose. All-grade CRS and neurotoxicity events occurred in 83.6% and 18% of patients, respectively.