Authored by Ann Liu, PhD
Medically Reviewed by Brian Koffman, MDCM (retired), MSEd
The American Society for Hematology (ASH) annual meeting is a scientific conference where researchers present their latest findings on blood diseases such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). In this brief interview, Dr. Brian Koffman spoke with Dr. Nicole Lamanna, Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. They discussed upcoming novel therapies for CLL / SLL.
With the advent of targeted therapies like BTK inhibitors and BCL2 inhibitors, patients with CLL are living much longer now. However, these therapies are not curative, so we still need better therapies that are more effective and have fewer side effects. Patients can also develop resistance to therapies over time, so having therapies that work through different mechanisms of action is also important.
One exciting upcoming drug class is the BTK degraders. BTK inhibitors like ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, zanubrutinib, and pirtobrutinib work by directly binding to the BTK protein (reversibly or irreversibly) and inhibiting its function. BTK degraders, on the other hand, work by actually causing the breakdown of the BTK protein so that it is completely destroyed. Several BTK degraders are being tested in clinical trials, including NX-5948 and BGB-16673.
Another upcoming class of drugs is the bispecific antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies like rituximab and obinutuzumab target a protein on the surface of CLL cells called CD20. Bispecific antibodies bind to CD20 and a protein on the surface of T cells called CD3. This allows bispecific antibodies to bring the CLL cell and the T cell in close proximity to each other and enhance the killing of CLL cells. These drugs are being tested in clinical trials as well. Epcoritamab is being tested for CLL as well as Richter’s transformation.
If you are an individual living with CLL who has already been on current standard-of-care treatments, newer options are in the pipeline that seem to have good efficacy. As always, we encourage patients to consider clinical trials that are testing these novel therapies.
Links and Resources:
Watch the interview below:
