European Commission approves teclistamab-daratumumab in RRMM
The European Commission approved teclistamab in combination with daratumumab for treating patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who received ≥1 prior therapy. The approval is based on the clinically meaningful and statistically significant progression-free and overall survival (PFS and OS, respectively) benefits with the combination in the phase 3 MajesTEC-3 trial, reported last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Belantamab mafodotin combinations gain approval in Singapore
The Singapore Health Sciences Authority approved belantamab mafodotin-based regimens for two RRMM indications. Belantamab, combined with either bortezomib or pomalidomide, plus dexamethasone, was approved for treating patients with RRMM who received ≥1 prior therapy, based on data from the pivotal phase 3 DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 trials.

Daratumumab-based quadruplet demonstrates efficacy across frailty subgroups
In a subgroup analysis of the CEPHEUS trial, daratumumab-lenalidomide-bortezomib-dexamethasone (Dara-VRd) showed higher minimal residual disease (MRD)-negativity rates, compared with VRd, across frailty subgroups, including in patients categorized as frail by two different measures. The findings, published in Leukemia, add to the expanded MRD data reported for the entire cohort in Blood Advances, which showed deeper, more durable, higher, and more sustained MRD-negativity with Dara-VRd over VRd.

Lymphocyte subsets may differentiate bsAb responders and no-nresponders
Robust lymphocyte expansion and early recovery of absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC), along with a higher CD4+ T-cell count, rather than baseline ALC, were associated with improved outcomes in patients receiving bsAb therapy. These findings, from a retrospective analysis published in Blood Cancer Journal, suggest that on-treatment lymphocyte kinetics and immune composition may help differentiate responders from non-responders.

First-in-class MYC-targeted RNA degrader exhibits preclinical anti-myeloma activity
A ribonuclease-targeting chimera (RiboTAC) designed to promote degradation of MYC messenger RNA selectively decreased MYC mRNA and protein levels, thereby inhibiting MYC-mediated transcription and cell/tumor growth, in MM cell lines and MM xenograft models. These preclinical findings, reported in Blood, highlight the potential of RiboTACs for targeting oncogenic pathways considered “undruggable.”

G-CSF can be considered for treating bsAb-associated neutropenia
In a retrospective study assessing the impact of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) on risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in patients with RRMM who received ≥1 dose of bispecific antibody (bsAb) therapy, most CRS events occurred prior to G-CSF administration, and all were grade 1 or 2. The data, reported in Blood Cancer Journal, suggest that G-CSF can help mitigate bsAb-associated neutropenia without substantial increase in CRS risk/severity.