bluebird CAR T therapy leads to responses in MM study
bluebird bio Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) added $8.65 (14%) to $69 in early after-hours trading after it reported interim results from a Phase I study of bb2121 to treat relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Among nine evaluable patients, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy led to a 78% overall response rate, and led to responses in all six patients in the top two dose cohorts that were evaluable for efficacy. Two patients had stringent complete responses (CRs).
The candidate is bluebird's first cancer therapy to reach the clinic. It comprises autologous T cells transduced ex vivo with an anti-BCMA02 CAR lentiviral vector delivering the CAR targeted to human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily member 17 (BCMA; TNFRSF17; CD269)...