Johnson & Johnson has unveiled new findings from the Phase 3 CARTITUDE-4 study, which indicate that a single infusion of CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel; cilta-cel) considerably improves minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity rates (10^-5) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who are resistant to lenalidomide and have been treated with one to three prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor (PI). This is in comparison to traditional therapies such as pomalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (PVd), or daratumumab, pomalidomide, and dexamethasone (DPd).
Minimal residual disease serves as a prognostic indicator for prolonged survival outcomes in patients with multiple myeloma.
After nearly three years (34 months) of follow-up, MRD-negativity rates among assessable patients were more than twice as high in those treated with CARVYKTI compared to standard therapies (89% vs. 38%; P