SOHO 2023 | Updates on the use of bispecific antibodies in MCL & the need for more studies in this space

In 2023, the use of bispecifics, it’s still a growing field, I would say. As of right now, we have single agent data with mosunetuzumab from the original pivotal trial, which did not show significant efficacy for that agent in mantle cell lymphoma. With the second bispecific antibody glofitamab, which is a two-to-one binding epitope, we did see improved efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma, including those who were post-BTK and displayed some other high-risk features. As of right now, that information is still a bit immature, so we don’t necessarily know for sure the durability of the responses in these patients. And so I think as time goes on and that data matures, and with the upcoming Phase III trial of glofitamab versus standard of care in this patient population, we’ll get more detailed information about the efficacy of this agent. Now, we can talk of some of the other bispecifics that have been utilized in follicular and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which is epcoritamab and odronextamab, we really do not have information on these agents about efficacy or safety in mantle cell lymphoma. I think safety is a big concern because ideally what we see in these patients is that there’s probably a bit more cytokine release syndrome with mantle cell lymphoma than what we saw with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. So, how these agents behave will be very important to tease out whether we can use these drugs in a similar fashion. I think, as of yet, we just have not necessarily got a robust amount of information as compared to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or follicular lymphoma.