Genmab drug combo sharply cuts lymphoma progression risk

Genmab said Thursday its cancer drug combination significantly cut the risk of disease progression or death in patients with a common type of slow-growing lymphoma that has returned or resisted prior treatment.

In a Phase 3 trial, a combination of the drug epcoritamab with the standard treatment of rituximab and lenalidomide reduced the risk by 79% in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, compared to the standard treatment alone, the company said.

The study met its main goals of improving both progression-free survival, which measures how long patients live without their disease worsening, and the overall response rate.

Epcoritamab is a bispecific antibody, a type of drug designed to attach to cancer cells and immune cells simultaneously to help the immune system attack the cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted an application for the combination therapy and granted it a priority review, with a target decision date of Nov. 30, 2025, according to the company.

If approved, the treatment would be the first bispecific antibody combination available as a second-line option for these patients, Genmab said.

“While therapeutic options exist for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, response rates tend to decline and durability diminishes with each subsequent line of treatment, which can increase the risk of the disease transforming into aggressive large-cell lymphoma,” said Jan van de Winkel, Chief Executive Officer of Genmab.

The Danish biotechnology company is co-developing the drug with AbbVie and reported that no new safety signals were observed in the trial.