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Despite emerging therapies for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma (MM; RRMM) improving patient prognosis considerably, caveats remain. Uncovering novel targets for therapeutic intervention is imperative for the treatment of patients that have depleted all currently available treatment options.
B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) has been identified as a cell-surface receptor unique to plasma cells. The fact that BCMA is virtually absent on naïve and memory B cells makes it a promising target for MM cell-directed therapy. Belantamab mafodotin (GSK2857916) is a first-in-class antibody drug conjugate consisting of an anti-BCMA monoclonal antibody bound to the microtubule-disrupting agent, monomethyl auristatin F (MMAF).1 Following the targeted release of MMAF into BCMA-expressing cells, MM cells undergo apoptosis. The binding of belantamab mafodotin to BCMA also enhances antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent phagocytosis and immunogenic cell death. BCMA is also the target of several immunotherapies currently in development such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies and bispecific antibodies.1
The first-in-human DREAMM-1 (NCT02064387) study, conducted in adult patients with RRMM who had progressive disease after stem cell transplantation (SCT), alkylators, proteasome inhibitors (PIs), and immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs®), uncovered impressive single-agent activity of belantamab mafodotin.2,3 Therefore, Sagar Lonial, Emory Winship Cancer Institute, and colleagues conducted a phase II, open-label, two-arm study, DREAMM-2 (NCT03525678), to investigate the efficacy and safety of belantamab mafodotin at two dose levels in patients with RRMM and recently published the results in The Lancet Oncology.1
As a result of the positive data from the DREAMM-2 study, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Priority Review to the Biologics License Application for belantamab mafodotin and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have accepted marketing authorization application for its use in the treatment of RRMM.4,5
Outcomes
Table 1. Characteristics of study sample defined by belantamab mafodotin dose cohort
*Data available for 47 patients in the 2.5mg/kg cohort and 36 patients in the 3.4mg/kg cohort. IMiD; immunomodulatory drug, IQR; interquartile range, ISS=International Staging System, mAb; monoclonal antibody, PI; proteasome inhibitor. |
||
Dose of belantamab mafodotin |
2.5mg/kg (n= 97) |
3.4mg/kg (n= 99) |
---|---|---|
Age, median (IQR), years ≥ 75 years, % |
65 (60–70) 13 |
67 (61–72) 17 |
Sex Male, % Female, % |
53 47 |
57 43 |
Time from initial diagnosis, median (IQR), years* |
5.49 (4.01–7.02) |
5.08 (4.16–7.48) |
ISS disease stage at screening, % Stage I Stage II Stage III Unknown |
22 34 43 1 |
18 52 30 0 |
High-risk cytogenetics, % |
42 |
47 |
Type of myeloma, % IgG Non-IgG or unknown |
67 33 |
74 26 |
Extramedullary disease, % |
23 |
18 |
Refractory to previous therapies, % Proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib Carfilzomib IMiD Lenalidomide Pomalidomide Anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody Daratumumab Isatuximab |
76 65
90 87
100 3 |
75 58
89 78
92 1 |
Safety data is shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Adverse events in the safety population
AE, adverse event; SAE, serious adverse event |
||
Belantamab mafodotin dose |
2.5 mg/kg (n= 95) |
3.4 mg/kg (n= 99) |
---|---|---|
≥ 1 AE, % |
98 |
100 |
Dose delays due to AEs, % |
54 |
62 |
Dose reductions due to AEs, % |
29 |
41 |
Permanent discontinuation of treatment due to AEs, % |
8 |
10 |
Most common Grade 3–4 AEs, % Keratopathy Thrombocytopenia Anemia |
27 20 20 |
21 33 25 |
≥ Grade three pneumonia, % |
4 |
11 |
SAEs, % |
40 |
47 |
Death due to SAE, % |
3 |
7 |
≥ Grade two bleeding events, % |
5 |
17 |
Neutropenia, % |
14 |
27 |
Further studies of belantamab mafodotin are planned to evaluate:3
References
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