Belantamab-Based Treatments Show Improved PFS & OS

  • Research from the DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 trials is highlighting belantamab mafodotin’s place in treating relapsed multiple myeloma.
  • The trials compared the drug combined with either bortezomib and dexamethasone (Bela-Vd) or pomalidomide and dexamethasone (Bela-Pd) to standard of care approaches and found improved progression-free survival and overall survival.
  • Ocular side effects are still a concern with this drug, but data indicate that these can be managed with dose adjustments or schedule changes.

Antibody-drug conjugate belantamab mafodotin (brand name: Blenrep), which targets B-cell maturation on multiple myeloma cells, has had many ups and downs on its path to approval. Now, new research from the DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 trials is highlighting the drug’s place in treating relapsed multiple myeloma when combined with either bortezomib and dexamethasone (Bela-Vd) or pomalidomide and dexamethasone (Bela-Pd).

The DREAMM-7 trial indicated that the Bela-Vd approach showed progression-free survival of 36.6 months compared to 13.4 in the study’s control arm. At 12 months, data from the DREAMM-8 trial showed that 71% of patients had progression-free survival vs. 51% in the control arm.

“This sets the stage for the approval of belantamab mafodotin-based therapy in early relapse,” Dr. Paul Richardson, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who took part in collecting data for the DREAMM-8 trial, explains.

Yet even with promising data from both trials, Dr. Richardson points out, one of the main issues with belantamab, ocular side effects, were still a concern.

“One of the issues with belantamab has always been ocular toxicity, nonetheless it proved manageable with dose reduction and schedule change,” Dr. Richardson explains. “The majority of these ocular effects were generally mild to moderate — what I mean by that is blurring of vision, which then proved readily reversable in almost every case and very, very importantly, did not lead to hospitalizations.”

Dr. Richardson calls the side effect profile “quite encouraging,” noting even ocular toxicity is manageable, reversable, and can be made more of a nuisance than a major barrier for patients.