BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product Development

Assessing the BCMA scene

Why it’s too soon to call bluebird’s bb2121 the winning BCMA CAR at ASH 2017

December 16, 2017 2:15 AM UTC

Differences in patient populations and a dearth of clinical outcome data mean it’s too soon to declare bluebird bio Inc.’s anti-BCMA chimeric antigen receptor therapy the leader of the pack of CARs that presented clinical data in multiple myeloma at the American Society of Hematology meeting.

While the CAR data do hint at unprecedented benefits for targeting BCMA, they don’t shut antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other anti-BCMA modalities out of the fold; these will likely still have a place in the arsenal for MM patients unable to access or tolerate CAR T regimens. ...