Genmab drug helps more patients get curative lymphoma transplant

Genmab said its cancer drug epcoritamab, when used in a combination therapy, helped a majority of patients with a hard-to-treat lymphoma become eligible for a potentially curative stem cell transplant.

In a mid-stage trial, the treatment showed an 87% overall response rate and a 65% complete response rate in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL, the company announced Sunday.

Following the treatment, which combined epcoritamab with a standard chemotherapy regimen, 65% of patients were able to proceed with an autologous stem cell transplant, a procedure that can cure the disease.

“This combination therapy of epcoritamab plus rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide (R-ICE) offers a potential new treatment option for patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, providing high response rates and a bridge to potentially curative autologous stem cell transplantation," said Raul Cordoba, an investigator in the study.

The safety profile was manageable, with no patients discontinuing the trial due to side effects, according to the company.

Epcoritamab, co-developed with AbbVie, is already approved under the brand name Epkinly for other lymphoma indications, and this specific combination use is investigational.