Author: Anne Kerber
Senior Vice President, Head Late Development, Hematology, Oncology, Cell Therapy
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has been a core area of research for Bristol Myers Squibb for more than 15 years with multiple innovative programs that continue to advance potential options for patients.
NHL is the most common blood cancer with more than 550,000 people diagnosed every year across the world. There are more than 60 types of NHL, with each form presenting differently in terms of how quickly they grow and the types of treatment they may require.
For example, large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is the most common aggressive or fast-growing type of NHL. While curable, about 30-40% of patients who receive current standard of care therapies in the first line do not respond or relapse and require additional treatment.
Additionally, follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common type of indolent or slow-growing NHL. FL is generally considered treatable and while patients may experience remission with current therapies for several years, the side effects of chemotherapy can be challenging, and the disease will eventually return and may become more resistant to treatment with each relapse. There is a need for new chemo-free options that improve response and maintain quality of life throughout the treatment journey.
Driven by the need for both greater disease control and curative options for FL and LBCL, respectively, BMS is exploring multiple pathways and treatment combinations to advance care for patients living with lymphoma.
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For decades, the standard of care for lymphomas has entailed some combination of chemotherapy regimens, targeted therapies and stem cell transplants. While chemotherapies are effective, they cannot differentiate between cancer cells and normal cells, causing a range of side effects from hair loss and fatigue to nausea and increased risk of infection. Oftentimes, chemotherapy is also required over a prolonged duration and many cycles to delay progression of the disease.
With these considerations in mind, the lymphoma treatment landscape in recent years has evolved to include more chemotherapy-free or fixed duration options. BMS has been at the forefront of one key advancement, cell therapy. As a leader in this space, BMS continues delivering sustained responses for patients in several types of NHL through a one-time infusion.
Still, the treatment journey for patients across this spectrum of diseases is complex and we are advancing a robust pipeline aimed at addressing critical gaps in the treatment paradigm.
One of the research modalities BMS is advancing in NHL is targeted protein degradation, drawing from decades of clinical experience and scientific expertise in this area. This includes our investigation of a potential first-in-class, oral CELMoD® agent for the treatment of NHL that degrades targeted proteins to produce dual immunomodulatory and direct cell-killing antitumor activity.
We have seen encouraging early activity with this investigational CELMoD agent as an add-on to standard of care regimens, and several clinical studies have been ongoing as part of the GOLSEEK program in both newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory settings in LBCL and FL, with more research planned in different types of lymphoma.
Through our continued commitment to clinical exploration, we are navigating a range of scientific approaches, including BCL-6 to advance the potential of both curative and chemotherapy-free options.
Click here learn more about our commitment to patients with NHL and visit our clinical trials site for more information on the research currently underway.
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