Current Clinical Algorithms and Recent Therapeutic Advances in the Management of Multiple Myeloma and Related Blood Disorders (Video Program)Subcutaneous delivery of daratumumab for patients with relapsed/refractory MM
2:04 minutes.
TRANSCRIPTION:
DR LOVE: We heard for a long time, “We’re hoping we’ll find the rituximab of myeloma.” Maybe it’s going to be dara or some other anti-CD38 agent. Clinically, do you think that’s kind of where we’re heading? If you think about that model in lymphoma, they pretty much add rituximab in from the beginning. When it kind of looks clinically resistant, they pull it back out. They put it back in. They try to get it in as much as they can, almost. Is that kind of what you think we’re heading to? DR FONSECA: I think that’s what we’re going to be facing, even though it’s not exactly the same as rituximab. I think we have much to learn, as Dr Raje had mentioned, from the lymphoma colleagues, as much as we have to learn from the CML when it comes down now to MRD testing. But I do anticipate that we’re going to be first moving this up front. Number 2 is there will be some competition because there’re other drugs that are in development. And there’s going to be slight tweaking of the design of the antibody. At the ASH meeting, there’s a very interesting presentation of subcutaneous administration of daratumumab. So that’s going to further improve convenience. DR LOVE: And how often is that given? DR FONSECA: It’s the same schedule. And Dr Usmani is presenting that study. I think the preliminary results are that it’s going to be very similar to the intravenous one. So that would be a major plus for our patients as well. DR LOVE: I remember when, I think it was subQ trastuzumab, was looked at, too. And I was like, “Should a monoclonal antibody work, if it’s given subQ?” I don't know. Somehow it seems like it ought to be IV. DR FONSECA: Sure. DR LOVE: Is there any reason it needs to be IV? DR FONSECA: No. I think that’s where we have to start, but with these molecules, if you can do it subQ, it’s great. We’ve learned from many other diseases that things such as convenience matter a lot. I mean, in the HIV literature, just combining the 2 drugs in 1 pill improved overall survival. So things like this, that you can have someone who can get subcutaneous daratumumab, I think will make a world of a difference for patients to stick with therapy. DR RAJE: We’ve had other monoclonal antibodies. Denosumab is a drug which is a monoclonal antibody given subcutaneously. DR LOVE: Right. DR RAJE: So if you can get the pharmacokinetics to work so that you can give it conveniently, I think this is going to be huge. |