Iberdomide helps eliminate myeloma cells, trial data show
Patients with relapsed or refractory disease achieve MRD negativity
Iberdomide can help eliminate cancer cells in people with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to clinical trial results announced by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS).
The finding comes from an interim analysis of data from the Phase 3 clinical trial EXCALIBER-RRMM (NCT04975997). The study enrolled hundreds of myeloma patients whose cancer had come back (relapsed) or failed to respond (refractory) after one or two prior lines of myeloma treatment.
All participants were given the standard therapies Darzalex (daratumumab) and dexamethasone. About half of the patients also received iberdomide, while the other half received the approved therapy, bortezomib (sold as Velcade and generics).
The oral therapy is a cereblon E3 ligase modulator (CELMoD) designed to degrade several proteins that are key to the survival of myeloma cells, thus killing the cancer cells. It is also thought to help stimulate the immune system to attack myeloma cells, according to BMS.
“Iberdomide represents the first of a novel class of medicines, called CELMoDs, which has the potential to create a new foundation for multiple myeloma treatment that may be combined with other therapies,” Anne Kerber, BMS’s senior vice president and head of development, hematology, oncology, and cell therapy, said in a company press release.
Achieving MRD negativity, or no detectable cancer cells
“This result builds on our significant experience in both targeted protein degradation and developing new treatment options for patients living with multiple myeloma,” Kerber said.
One of the study’s main goals is to see if the iberdomide-based treatment is superior at achieving minimum residual disease (MRD) negativity, meaning that patients don’t have any detectable cancer cells. According to BMS, interim results showed a statistically significant improvement in MRD-negative rates for patients treated with iberdomide. The company also said that safety data were consistent with previous studies. It didn’t give specifics.
The EXCALIBER-RRMM trial will continue to evaluate how iberdomide affects other outcomes, including the time without disease progression and overall survival rates.
BMS is sponsoring a separate Phase 3 clinical trial called EXCALIBER-MAINTENANCE (NCT05827016) that’s testing iberdomide in newly diagnosed myeloma patients who have undergone a stem cell transplant, with the main goal of seeing if iberdomide can delay disease progression. That study is recruiting participants at sites worldwide.
About the Author
