Dr. Anderson on Addressing Unmet Needs in Myeloma With Descartes-11

Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, program director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, discusses potentially addressing unmet needs in patients with multiple myeloma through the use of the mRNA-based CAR T-cell therapy Descartes-11.

The field of CAR T-cell therapy is still quite early in its development, according to Anderson. Most clinical trials include DNA-based CAR T cells that are used in patients with advanced relapsed/refractory myeloma who have received multiple lines of prior therapy. Although results, even in the advanced setting, have shown rapid and deep responses with this modality, the durability of response still needs to be expanded, Anderson explains.

Moving DNA- and mRNA-based CAR T-cell therapies like Descartes-11 earlier on in the disease course will definitively improve outcomes in patients who are less heavily pretreated, according to Anderson. The high-risk patient population currently represents an unmet need in multiple myeloma, Anderson adds. By utilizing novel CAR T products such as Descartes-11, this unmet need could potentially be addressed, concludes Anderson.