The European Hematology Association’s 2022 Hybrid Congress is in full swing in Vienna, Austria and will feature the newest and most promising developments in blood cancer research.
The European Hematology Association’s 2022 Hybrid Congress is in full swing, blending in-person and online sessions. Held on-site in Vienna, Austria, the event runs for a total of seven days and will feature the newest and most promising developments in the field of blood cancer research. Keep reading for early highlights.
Genentech Improves Outcomes through Effective Frontline Treatments
California’s Genentech (Roche) announced follow-up results from three big clinical trials assessing the efficacy of the company’s medicines in patients with previously untreated blood cancers.
Results from over five years of follow-up showed that the drug combo Venclexta (venetoclax) plus Gazyva (obinutuzumab) delivers durable benefits in patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This drug pair yielded a PFS of 62.6% at this follow-up, as opposed to only 27.0% with the combo of Gazyva plus chlorambucil. Overall survival was even better, at 81.9% and 77.0%, respectively.
Nearly three-quarters of patients treated with Venclexta plus Gazyva did not need another treatment in the five years following the initial regimen.
Gazyva also shone elsewhere in EHA, with final results from the phase III GALLIUM study showing that its combination with chemotherapy led to a meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with untreated follicular lymphoma. The seven-year investigator-assessed PFS in these patients was 63.4%, significantly greater than the 55.7% PFS in comparators treated with Rituxan (rituximab) plus chemotherapy. Both treatment arms saw roughly comparable rates of serious adverse events.
Meanwhile, exploratory subgroup analyses of the phase III POLARIX study revealed that the company’s Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin) has the potential to transform first-line care for untreated patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In combination with Rituxan plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (R-CHP), Polivy cut the risk of disease progression, relapse or death by 36% as compared with the current standard of care. This effect was observed using data from participants across Asia.
Based on its impressive performance in the overall POLARIX study population, Polivy with R-CHP was granted approval by the European Commission in May for previously untreated adults with DLBCL.
“Blood cancers remain challenging to treat at all stages, but by improving frontline treatment options we aim to increase the likelihood of meaningful clinical outcomes for these patients,” Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development said in a statement.
Aside from its frontline treatments, Genentech also revealed promising results for three of its antibodies meant to help patients seeking later lines of therapy for their blood cancers.
ADC Ready to Seek FDA Approval for R/R Hodgkin Lymphoma Drug
Results from a pivotal Phase II clinical trial show that Cami (camidanlumab tesirine), from ADC Therapeutics, induced a 70.1% overall response rate and 33.3% complete response rate in patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) Hodgkin Lymphoma.
The findings come from a Phase II, single-arm, multicenter, open-label clinical trial, which enrolled 117 patients with r/r Hodgkin lymphoma who had already received at least three prior lines of treatment. Treatment response to Cami was highly durable and lasted for a median of 13.7 months overall. For complete responders, the median duration was 14.5 months.
“Cami has demonstrated consistently favorable response rates and durability in Hodgkin lymphoma patients who have relapsed, despite using the best available treatments. These results offer hope to patients and doctors who need a new option,” Joseph Camardo, M.D., chief medical officer of ADC Therapeutics, said. “With these data from our Phase II trial in hand, we look forward to scheduling a meeting with the FDA to discuss the potential submission of a Biologics License Application.”
The company also said that Cami’s safety profile was largely consistent with what had previously been reported. In particular, commonly observed grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events included thrombocytopenia, anemia, hypophosphatemia and neutropenia. Eight patients developed Guillain-Barré syndrome or polyradiculopathy, but symptoms were alleviated after medical treatment.
Aside from Cami, the Swiss company is slated to present more findings at EHA detailing the impacts of treatment, or of failing treatment, in patients with relapsed or refractor DLBCL.
CAR-T Cell Therapy from Caribou Shows Early Success
California-based Caribou Biosciences released additional initial clinical data from the Phase I ANTLER trial for its allogeneic CAR-T Cell Therapy CB-010 in patients with r/r B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL).
The data, revealed during a poster presentation at EHA, showed that a single dose of CB-010 elicited a complete response rate in all six enrolled patients, reported as the investigational drug’s best response. At six months after the initial dose, 40% of patients remained in complete response. CB-010 did not lead to any incidence of graft-versus-host disease, though grade 3 and 4 treatment-emergent adverse events did occur in most recipients.
“We believe the 100% complete response achieved in the ANTLER CB-010 trial is unparalleled for a single, starting dose of cell therapy and represents an important step toward showing the potential of our Cas9 CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA genome-editing platform and pipeline of allogeneic cell therapies,” Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D., president and CEO of Caribou said in a statement.
“We continue to advance CB-010, as our goal is to develop an allogeneic cell therapy that may meaningfully rival autologous cell therapies and extend the potential reach of off-the-shelf treatments for patients,” she added.
The phase I study enrolled six r/r B-NHL patients who were given CB-010 at dose level 1, corresponding to 40×106 CAR-T cells. Following its success, Caribou’s ANTLER trial is now enrolling more patients at dose level 2, or at 80×106 CAR-T cells. More data is expected by year-end.
