Bristol Myers Squibb is positioning arlo-cel for quadruple-class exposed patients, which could help reduce competition with an upcoming multiple myeloma CAR T therapy from Gilead Sciences, according to BMO Capital Markets.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s CAR T therapy arlocabtagene autoleucel aced its registrational mid-stage study in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The Phase 2 results, analysts say, position the cell therapy to treat a patient population distinct from that targeted by Gilead Sciences’ investigational CAR T, which awaits a potential multiple myeloma approval later this year.
In the QUINTESSENTIAL trial, patients on arlocabtagene autoleucel (arlo-cel) saw significant improvements in overall and complete response rates, according to a company news release on Tuesday. This outcome marks a “key derisking event” for BMS and strengthens the pharma’s cell therapy franchise, BMO Capital Markets told investors in a note later that day.
BMS did not provide specific data in its press announcement but promised to do so at an upcoming congress.
QUINTESSENTIAL is an open-label, single-arm study that specifically focused on patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who had been exposed to four prior lines of treatment, including with a proteasome inhibitor, an anti-CD38 agent, an immunomodulatory inhibitor and a BCMA-targeting therapy.
BMS is “explicitly positioning arlo-cel for quadruple-class exposed patients,” BMO said on Tuesday, a strategy the firm said will cater to “an emerging population with limited treatment options.”
Positioning arlo-cel in this way could help set it apart from Gilead’s anito-cel, also being proposed for RRMM. The therapy is under FDA review with a target action date of Dec. 23. Anito-cel, a BCMA-targeting therapy, is being positioned as a fourth-line option. Gilead is currently laying the ground work for anito-cel’s launch but is also looking ahead to the asset’s potential to move into earlier lines.
“As anito-cel is a BCMA-directed therapy targeting the refractory setting, we view the two programs as addressing increasingly distinct patient populations, limiting direct competitive overlap,” BMO said on Tuesday.
It hasn’t been completely smooth sailing for BMS’ CAR T franchise lately, however. Last week, the pharma suspended a clutch of autoimmune studies for its investigational medicine zolacabtagene autoleucel following some safety signals.
The company’s decision to suspend trials was done “out of an abundance of caution,” a spokesperson told BioSpace at the time. Indeed, while BMS had observed certain “transient and reversible inflammatory events,” it hadn’t detected fatalities linked to the asset—unlike Novartis, which froze certain CAR T programs due to multiple patient deaths.
