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Anti-BCMA directed treatments, including CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates, have the potential to revolutionize the multiple myeloma treatment paradigm. At the 37 Annual CFS®, Sham Mailankody, MBBS, discussed the emerging BCMA-directed therapies that have shown the greatest potential.

The emergence of monoclonal antibodies, immunomodulatory agents, immunotoxins, bispecific T-cell engagers, and CAR T-cell therapies will redefine multiple myeloma treatment. However, these new approaches, by themselves, are not enough to achieve cure; they must be used in combination.

Healthcare is very comfortable with treating a disease, but it’s not as good with handling cures. However, the advent of gene therapy and precision medicine means more and more expensive cures are coming down the pipeline, said panelists on the last day of Asembia’s 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, held April 29 to May 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Real-world data on the use of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in large B-cell lymphoma bear out the pivotal results from ZUMA-1 and demonstrate not only that the treatment approach is here, but also that it’s time to address issues of efficacy, safety, cost, and moving this approach into earlier lines of therapy.

This week, the top managed care news included CMS' proposal to cover chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy; a study faulting the FDA’s handling of fentanyl oversight; and breast surgeons calling for genetic testing for all patients with breast cancer.