In this edition of The Onco’Zine Brief, Peter Hofland, Ph.D., talk with Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and Suzanne Trudel, MSc, MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and an Attending Physician at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Hofland, Nooka, and Trudel talk about a recently approved drug indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma, a type of hematological cancer, in which patients may, initially, not notice any symptoms. But as the disease progresses, bone pain, anemia, kidney dysfunction, infections, and other symptoms may occur. There’s no cure, but treatments may slow the progression of the disease.

The new drug, called belantamab mafodotin, commercially known as Blenrep®, is an antibody-drug conjugate that was approved in 2020. The drug was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) .

During the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in December 2020, a number of studies were presented, which underscore the commitment of GSK to advancing research across newly diagnosed and relapsed and/or refractory patients, and to improving the lives of patients with this type of blood cancer.

These presentations included a poster presentation of the DREAMM-6 study and an oral presentation of the ALGONQUIN study, a supportive collaborative study led by the Canadian Myeloma Research Group.

Both studies demonstrate the potential of belantamab mafodotin in combination with standard of care therapies and in earlier lines of treatment.

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