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EHA 2026 | INDEPENDENCE trial: luspatercept in patients with myelofibrosis and anemia on JAK2 inhibitor therapy
Haifa Kathrin Al-Ali, MD, University Hospital Halle, Halle, Germany, provides insight into the Phase III INDEPENDENCE (NCT04717414) trial, which evaluated the combination of ruxolitinib or fedratinib with luspatercept in patients with myelofibrosis. Dr Kathrin Al-Ali highlights that this combination may allow adequate dosing of ruxolitinib or fedratinib, which are effective for symptoms and spleen-related issues but often worsen anemia and transfusion dependence. This interview took place at the 31st Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Transcript
The INDEPENDENCE trial is actually a very interesting trial because it is the first trial that is evaluating the combination of ruxolitinib mainly but also fedratinib, another JAK inhibitor, with a compound that is well known to improve anemia because it is the so-called TGF beta ligand trap. This drug has been approved in another disease, also myeloid disease, myelodysplastic syndrome. And so combining this and giving this to patients with anemia and particularly those with transfusion dependence might allow us to give an adequate ruxolitinib dose because ruxolitinib or fedratinib, they’re very good for the symptoms, general symptoms of the patients, good for the spleen...
The INDEPENDENCE trial is actually a very interesting trial because it is the first trial that is evaluating the combination of ruxolitinib mainly but also fedratinib, another JAK inhibitor, with a compound that is well known to improve anemia because it is the so-called TGF beta ligand trap. This drug has been approved in another disease, also myeloid disease, myelodysplastic syndrome. And so combining this and giving this to patients with anemia and particularly those with transfusion dependence might allow us to give an adequate ruxolitinib dose because ruxolitinib or fedratinib, they’re very good for the symptoms, general symptoms of the patients, good for the spleen. But as we have already mentioned, they often have this anemia and worsen transfusion dependency. So, with luspatecept, subcutaneous, every three weeks, relatively well-tolerated medication. I think this trial and the findings are quite relevant because they give a new option to treat our patients better.
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Disclosures
Consultancy: BMS, AOP, Novartis, AbbVie, GSK, Kartos, Telios, Takeda, Otsuka, Stemline, MSD, Ionctura, Sanofi; Research funding: BMS, Incyte.
