A cancer drug trialled for the first time in the world at the UCLH Clinical Research Facility (CRF) has been approved for use in patients in the United States.
Dr Rakesh Popat led the UCLH team which recruited the first global patient in both the phase 1 and the phase 2 trial of belantanab mafodotin – developed by GSK – for treatment resistant multiple myeloma, a cancer in plasma cells in bone marrow.
Their research followed successful pre-clinical work done by UCLH’s Prof Kwee Yong and her team, and is supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH.
Results from the ongoing DREAMM2 trial (DRiving Excellence in Approaches to Multiple Myeloma) suggest one third of patients that had failed the main 3 classes of myeloma treatments respond to the drug, and among those responding more than half experience a 90% reduction of their cancer.
The researchers said they hoped approval by the FDA in the US would be followed swiftly by approval in Europe.
Multiple myeloma affects around 24,000 people in the UK at any one time and accounts for 15% of blood cancers. Despite treatment advances in recent years, most patients become resistant to existing therapies and die of relapse.
Belantanab mafodotin is a first-of-its-kind antibody that works by binding to the protein BMCA – widely found on cancerous plasma cells in multiple myeloma. After this binding, the drug induces death of the plasma cell.
Dr Popat said: “We have been excited the see the results of these trials come through, and are delighted this drug has now been approved in the US. We hope approval in other regions will follow so that patients can benefit from this treatment.”
Dr Nick McNally, Managing Director, Research at UCLH/UCL, said: “This is an excellent example of early translation at UCL/UCLH from pre-clinical work in the laboratory through to early phase trials in our NIHR CRF and underpinned by our BRC.”
