COMy 2021 | Melflufen: current trials and future directions

Melphalan flufenamide (melflufen) is an investigational first-in-class alkylating peptide-drug conjugate, offering a novel mechanism of action which will provide patients with multiple myeloma with an important new treatment option. Paul Richardson, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, discusses the discovery of melflufen and how it works in myeloma, before outlining its development pathway to date. Melflufen was first assessed in combination with dexamethasone in the O-12-M1 study (NCT01897714), which identified the recommended dosing schedule and provided early evidence of efficacy. The recent HORIZON study (NCT02963493) supported these findings, demonstrating encouraging response rates in a heavily-pretreated population. Ongoing combination studies using melflufen represent an exciting new direction, including the ANCHOR (NCT03481556) and LIGHTHOUSE (NCT04649060) studies. Dr Richardson also shares future directions in this space, including investigations in the setting of extramedullary disease. This interview took place during the 7th World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy), 2021.