After forming a partnership to develop a multiple myeloma CAR-T cell therapy, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and 2seventy bio have announced that the development plans have been scrapped, while sales for BMS’ Abecma continue to grow.
The collaboration, which began in 2017, was focused a trial to evaluate treatments for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
2seventy bio – a spinout of bluebird bio, to facilitate its oncology portfolio – confirmed that further developments for the therapy known as bb21217 would cease, following results from an ongoing phase 1 study.
Following a recent press release, 2seventy bio indicated that scrapping the development of the bb21217 programme was also ‘based on the strength of the Abecma clinical data and high commercial interest’.
The company maintains that it plans to ‘leverage the learnings from this programme to further strengthen its oncology pipeline’.
This cancellation is the second anti-BCMA CAR-T programme to be halted under BMS in the last twelve months, after a development programme with Juno Therapeutics was scrapped in February 2021.
The decision made by BMS and 2seventy bio reinforces that the companies’ hopes are pinned on Abecma, as the drug has been in high demand.
Abecma, approved in March 2021 as the first BCMA CAR-T programme, is a fourth-line or later treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. BMS has major plans to expand the drug’s capabilities, with phase 3 data for a third line expected sometime in the next eighteen months, while proof-of-concept data for second-line patients is expected by the end of this year.
In its third quarter update, BMS announced that sales for Abecma had grown from $24m in its second quarter to $71m in its third quarter.
Both companies said they anticipated between $250m and $300m in Abecma sales in 2021, with profits to be shared equally between BMS and 2seventy bio.
In light of the growing success seen with 2seventy bio, Nick Leschly, chief kairos officer at 2seventy bio, said: “As we double down on our goal of leading the future of oncology cell therapy, our vision is simple: design, learn and iterate to build the most powerful T-cell based solutions for patients with cancer. We are one of few companies that have the tools, infrastructure, experience and heart to deliver these new medicines with potential to create more time for our patients.”
Philip Gregory, chief scientific officer at 2seventy bio, added: “More than just numbers, each of these programmes is an example of the type of bold and innovative product candidates that will be the hallmark of 2seventy bio’s medicines. Of course, this is just the beginning of what we anticipate emerging from our research engine, which is fuelled by a suite of tools and technologies that enable us to focus on the biology of cancer and create fit-for-purpose cell therapies with the goal of achieving deep and durable responses.”