In recent months, the biotech and biopharma industries have been struggling with layoffs and dropping stocks. However, some companies are still experiencing success. Sanofi, AstraZeneca, Avillion and Diadem recently announced positive clinical results, providing positive news for patients with multiple myeloma, asthma and Alzheimer’s disease.

The European Medicines Agency on March 25 recommended the use of Johnson & Johnson and partner Legend Biotech Corp.’s CAR-T therapy Carvykti to treat multiple myeloma, nearly a month after the treatment was cleared in the United States.

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) for teclistamab to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Coronavirus vaccines are known to be less protective in people with the blood cancer multiple myeloma, such as former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who died on Oct. 18 of complications from Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated. Additionally, in a paper in the journal Stem Cell Reports, researchers said numerous businesses have made unsubstantiated and inaccurate claims about supposed stem cell products to treat Covid-19.

The European Commission granted Conditional Marketing Authorization for Bristol Myers Squibb’s Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel; ide-cel) – a first-in-class B-cell maturation antigen-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell immunotherapy – for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior therapies, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor and an anti-CD38 antibody and have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy.

AbbVie exercised an exclusive right to acquire TeneoOne, an affiliate of TeneoBio, and the company’s lead asset TNB-383B for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM). 

Med Ad News talked to Wendbush Securities analysts David Nierengarten, Laura Chico, and Liana Moussatos about various new drug approvals and other recent news updates in the industry. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted for priority review the Biologics License Application submitted by Janssen Biotech Inc. for ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel). The investigational B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy is intended for the treatment of patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (MM).

Less than a month after submitting an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, Anixa Biosciences ran into a snag with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the government agency asked for more information before approving a clinical study on the company’s Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T cell therapy (CAR-T).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sarclisa (isatuximab-irfc) in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who have received one to three prior lines of therapy.