By Amirah Al Idrus
People with hemophilia B lack a protein that helps their blood clot, so they rely on lifelong infusions of that protein to manage their disease. UniQure and CSL Behring’s hemophilia B gene therapy could transform chronic care into a one-time treatment—and its latest data suggest it could work for patients considered unsuitable for gene therapy.
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By Carly Helfand
Gilead Sciences is waiting for phase 3 data to show its Yescarta can help previously treated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients earlier in their treatment course. But, in the meantime, it’s trumpeting phase 2 stats in newly diagnosed lymphoma patients that could bode well for its forthcoming results.
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By Amirah Al Idrus
Bristol Myers Squibb and bluebird bio were first to file an anti-BCMA CAR-T for approval, but Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech are hot on their heels. The companies unveiled the first phase 2 data for their prospect, which banished multiple myeloma in two-thirds of patients and shrank tumors in 97% of patients.
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By Carly Helfand
Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie’s Imbruvica currently reigns supreme in the previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia market. But newer members of its class are threatening, and both of them put up data in other cancer types that might catch the attention of CLL prescribers down the line.
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By Amirah Al Idrus
CAR-T therapies have been a game changer in certain blood cancers, but they aren't a complete solution. For starters, not all patients can get CAR-T treatment, while others see their cancer worsen despite receiving it. But Regeneron’s bispecific antibody could be a new option for those patients. The drug beat cancer back in two kinds of lymphoma in a phase 1 study.
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By Carly Helfand
Novartis is gunning for its third Kymriah indication, and Saturday it posted new data that just might win over regulators. But by the time the CAR-T therapy gets to tackle its new market, it may have to face down a familiar foe in Gilead Sciences' Yescarta.
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By Nick Paul Taylor
Allogene Therapeutics has linked its off-the-shelf anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy to a 60% response rate in a phase 1 trial. The candidate is up against autologous cell therapies that have set the efficacy bar high, but Allogene has off-the-shelf advantages and levers to pull to further improve outcomes.
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By Carly Helfand
Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie’s Imbruvica is the standard of care in previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). But patients need to take it indefinitely, which can be difficult, both mentally and physically. Enter Venclexta, which AbbVie and Roche are working to combine with Imbruvica for a fixed duration of treatment.
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By Nick Paul Taylor
A subcutaneous formulation of Johnson & Johnson’s BCMAxCD3 bispecific antibody teclistamab has achieved a 73% overall response rate in a small trial of heavily pretreated multiple myeloma patients.
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By Amirah Al Idrus
Adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often beat back their cancer with front-line chemotherapy, but many patients relapse and need other options. Early data out of Kura Oncology suggest menin inhibitors could be one of those options. Its drug eliminated tumors in two patients with AML that had come back after previous treatment or hadn’t responded in the first place.
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By Carly Helfand
About one-third of chronic myeloid leukemia patients don’t survive past the five-year mark, in part thanks to built-up resistance to treatment options. And that’s a stat Takeda’s trying to change with Iclusig.
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By Carly Helfand
With Sanofi’s Sarclisa hitting multiple myeloma star Darzalex with its first in-class competition, Johnson & Johnson is working to convert patients to a newer, more convenient subcutaneous version of the med. And some new data just gave that mission a boost.
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By Carly Helfand
Incyte and Novartis’ Jakafi already boasts an indication in acute graft vs. host disease, thanks to an approval last year. But it’s also eying a nod in the chronic form of the disease—and it may just have the data to get it done.
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By Arlene Weintraub
Novartis’ CAR-T cancer therapy Kymriah can induce long-term remissions in some blood cancers, but many patients either relapse or don’t respond at all. University of Pennsylvania researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 to eliminate a protein that can stifle the activation of the cancer-killing cells, greatly improving responses in mice.
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