According to a story from investors.amgen.com, the drug developer Amgen recently announced its intent to present all new clinical trial data which will feature its latest work in testing a variety of therapies for rare blood cancers. These presentations will take place at the Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American Society of Hematology. This data will come from experimental product candidates as well as more thoroughly established drugs in Amgen’s portfolio and will feature a variety of rare blood cancers.
Testing Experimental Drugs
Amgen intends the array of presentations, which will number nine in total alongside a total of 45 abstracts, to be a genuine reflection of its continued commitment to researching and developing innovative new treatment approaches for blood malignancies. Some the latest trials will test a unique immunotherapy pioneered by the company called bi-specific T cell engager, or “BiTE” molecules, named AMG 420 and AMG 330. Like most immunotherapies, these therapies attempt to harness the untapped powers of the immune system. BiTE molecules stimulate T-cells so that they can begin to recognize cancer cells as foreign and destroy them. The list of abstracts includes a Phase I study of AMG 330 as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia and AMG 420 as a treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
New Data for Approved Drugs
The presentations will also include additional data about blinatumomab, marketed as BLINCYTO.® This is the first therapy to gain public approval that utilizes the BiTE molecule immunotherapy. It is currently approved as a treatment for relapsed/refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia in patients of all ages in the US and a total of 57 countries around the world. The company will present data about Phase 2 trials of the drug as a treatment for B-cell non-Hogkin lymphoma. Another trial will present long term blinatumomab data focused on the drug’s effect on minimal residual disease.
Minimal residual disease (MSD) refers to the small number of leukemic cells that are often present in a patient after receiving treatment. While the patient is technically in remission, these stray cells that escaped destruction are often responsible for disease relapse.
Multiple Myeloma
Amgen will also present data about its latest progress in multiple myeloma research and treatment. Many of these studies will focus on another one of its products, carfilzomib (marketed as KYPROLIS®). It is already approved as a treatment for this cancer, and these studies will examine long term impacts and its viability as a component of combination treatments.
