Bristol Myers Squibb Receives European Commission Approval for CAR T Cell Therapy Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) for Relapsed or Refractory Large B-cell Lymphoma After One Prior Therapy

Bristol Myers Squibb announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted approval for Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, for the treatment of adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBCL), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) and follicular lymphoma grade 3B (FL3B), who relapsed within 12 months from completion of, or are refractory to, first-line chemoimmunotherapy. This approval covers all European Union (EU) member states.

The approval is based on results from the pivotal Phase 3 TRANSFORM trial in which Breyanzi demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in the study’s primary endpoint of event-free survival (EFS), and key secondary endpoints of complete responses (CR) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared to standard therapy (consisting of salvage immunochemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant [HSCT]), along with a manageable and well-established safety profile.

“With Breyanzi, people in Europe living with relapsed or refractory DLBCL now have a differentiated CAR T cell therapy option earlier in the treatment paradigm that provides long-term clinical benefit,” said Anne Kerber, senior vice president, head of Cell Therapy Development, Bristol Myers Squibb. “This marks the approval of our third indication in Europe for our CAR T cell therapy portfolio, underscoring our continued drive to deliver the promise of cell therapy with curative potential for more patients.”

In DLBCL, the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, up to 40% of patients have disease that is refractory to or relapses following initial therapy. The standard therapy for these patients consists of intensive salvage immunochemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and HSCT for those whose disease responds to the salvage therapy and are eligible for transplant. However, only an estimated 25% of patients are considered eligible for transplant and experience long-term clinical benefit, leaving a continued unmet need for second-line treatment options with curative potential.

“Based on results of the TRANSFORM trial, Breyanzi provides significantly improved outcomes compared to the standard of care that has been in place for decades, along with a well-established safety profile, demonstrating the benefit of using a CAR T cell therapy earlier for patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL,” said Bertram Glass, M.D., TRANSFORM trial investigator and Chief Physician of the Department of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Helios Klinikum, Berlin, Germany. “This approval represents a significant milestone for patients with continued progress toward transforming second-line treatment practice to provide a personalized treatment option that offers the potential for durable remission.”