Dr. Berdeja on Dosing JNJ-4528 in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Jesus G. Berdeja, MD, the director of Multiple Myeloma Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the dosing of the investigational CAR T-cell product JNJ-4528 in patients with ​relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

The median administered dose of JNJ-4528 in the ​phase 1b/2 CARTITUDE-1 trial was 0.72 x 106 CAR + viable T cells/kg,which is lower than other available CAR T-cell products, says Berdeja.

With this dosing strategy, a 70 kg patient would receive about 50 million CAR T cells, explains Berdeja. Although additional information is needed, making fewer CAR T cells may lead to less manufacturing failures.

Moreover, data from the ​CARTITUDE-1 trial showed that the ​median time to onset of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was 7 days after receiving JNJ-4528. Comparatively, CRS can be observed immediately after infusion with other ​CAR T-cell products, Berdeja concludes.