Multiple Myeloma

Kirollos Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, discusses the role of the pharmacist in relation to bispecific care team readiness and patient readiness.

In addition to emerging treatment options, the speakers addressed the importance of individualized decision-making when treating patients with multiple myeloma.

Kirollos Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, addresses some of the considerations for bispecifics in relation to facility readiness at different sites and among different stakeholders.

The indication is for adult patients with multiple myeloma who are refractory to lenalidomide and have previously received at least 1 line of therapy.

Venetoclax, which is approved for leukemia, blocks a function of the BCL-2 protein and has previously shown efficacy in a small proportion of patients with multiple myeloma.

There are unique complexities when implementing bispecific antibodies, including site of care considerations, monitoring, and management of adverse events.

FDA-approved BiTE therapies for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma show promising response rates, offering off-the-shelf alternatives to CAR T therapy.

The approval expands the prior indication of idecabtagene vicleucel (Abecma; Bristol Myers Squibb), which will make the drug available to patients in earlier lines.

Unlike conventional monoclonal antibodies, BsAbs possess dual binding domains that target 2 distinct antigens simultaneously.

Panelists summarize key takeaways on using bispecific antibodies for multiple myeloma treatment.

The study authors are hopeful that this finding can help in the development of new drugs or treatments for patients with multiple myeloma.

Carol Ann Huff, MD discusses how the approval of additional bispecific antibodies for multiple myeloma might change the treatment selection process, highlighting considerations for sequencing of agents and combination therapy.

Medical experts describe unmet needs in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, describing challenges related to access to care and extramedullary disease.

Michael Singel, PharmD, discusses the role of pharmacists in the operationalization of bispecifics to treat multiple myeloma, including the creation of treatment plans and standard of care order sets.

Michael Singel, PharmD, discusses the logistics of complying with the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program for bispecific antibodies at his institution and addresses training and documentation requirements.

The decision to vote in favor of idecabtagene vicleucel comes after positive phase 3 trial results demonstrating its efficacy compared with standard regimens.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies were associated with higher incidences, grades of severity, and longer duration of cytokine release syndrome compared with bispecific antibodies.

This finding was evident in both examined groups and regardless of the patients' B-cell maturation antigen-directed therapy status.

The combination of GZ17-6.02 and bortezomib reduced of HDAC, and as a result ATG13 phosphorylation was enhanced, BAK levels increased, and BCL-XL levels were reduced.

Carol Ann Huff, MD, describes her institution's multidisciplinary approach to monitoring for adverse events when administering bispecific antibodies, including the roles of nurses, pharmacists, and attending physicians.

This initiative aims to raise worldwide awareness of the disease while trying to strengthen the connection between members of the multiple myeloma community.

Michael Singel, PharmD; and Carol Ann Huff, MD, discuss how step-up dosing for bispecific antibodies has been implemented in the outpatient setting with monitoring considerations for cytokine release syndrome and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome to ensure patient safety.

Despite the belantamab mafodotin regimen improving overall survival in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, the trial is ongoing to confirm the presented results.

The authors found that overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma was longest for those receiving first-line autologous stem cell transplantation.

The withdrawal comes after clinical trial results failed to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of melphalan flufenamide when combined with dexamethasone.