Celgene and bluebird bio announced promising updated results from an ongoing Phase 1 clinical study of bb2121, an investigational anti-B-cell maturation antigen CAR-T cell therapy.
In a small, early stage study, more than half of patients with advanced multiple myeloma who had run out of therapeutic options remained in complete remission after receiving the experimental gene-modifying immunotherapy being co-developed by Celgene and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based bluebird bio.
The first two CAR-T therapies from Novartis and Gilead Sciences were approved by the U.S. FDA this year to treat certain forms of blood cancers. The bluebird/Celgene therapy targets a different protein, BCMA, found on myeloma and plasma cells.
Due to the impressive results, Celgene plans to begin enrolling patients this month for a larger, potentially pivotal trial that could position bb2121 to become the third approved CAR-T.
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