Just a short post today. I've been very busy for the last few weeks, and that will keep up for a few more days, but I wanted to post something, so here it is: an interview with Dr. Elizabeth Budde about bi-specific antibodies, published by MedPage Today.
As you might remember, Bispecifics are similar to monoclonal antibodies like Rituxan and Obinutuzumab, in that they can find and attach themselves to proteins on the surface of B cells that become cancerous in diseases like Follicular Lymphoma. But they are different in that they also attach to other cells at the same time -- usually T cells, another important immune cell (they're the T in "CAR-T"). So they work by bringing a cancer cell into close contact with an immune cell that might eliminate it.
Bi-specifics are one of those newer treatments that get oncologists very excited. (I often ask my oncologist what gets him excited in the world of Lymphoma, and bi-specifics were one of the first things he told me about, just before they started to get talked about widely.)
In this interview, Dr. Budde talks specifically about the results of a phase 2 trial for Mosunetuzumab, one of several Bi-specifics being tested now for FL. This bi-specific caused a lot of excitement at the ASH conference in December, and you can see form the interview that Dr. Budde is excited about it as well.
She compares the treatment to CAR-T, pointing out that CAR-T needs to be given in a very particular setting, but a bi-specific like Mosunetuzumab can be given in a regular treatment room, like Rituxan or chemotherapy. She also compares it to PI3K Inhibitors, and shows how much more durable (long-lasting) Mosunetuzumab compared to inhibitors.
It's a short interview, but an interesting one, and confirms how likely it is that bi-specifics will be a part of our treatment options soon, and for a long time.
More later, after things slow down for me.
Stay well.
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