Safety and efficacy of tafasitamab with or without lenalidomide added to first-line R-CHOP for DLBCL: the phase 1b First-MIND study.

Anti-CD19 immunotherapy tafasitamab is used in combination with lenalidomide in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant. Open-label, phase 1b, First-MIND study assessed safety and preliminary efficacy of tafasitamab + R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) ± lenalidomide as first-line therapy in patients with DLBCL. From December 2019 to August 2020, 83 adults with untreated DLBCL (International Prognostic Index 2-5) were screened and 66 were randomly assigned (33 per arm) to R-CHOP-tafasitamab (arm T) or R-CHOP-tafasitamab-lenalidomide (arm T/L) for 6 cycles. Primary end point was safety; secondary end points included end-of-treatment (EoT) overall response rate (ORR) and complete response (CR) rate. All patients had ≥1 treatment-emergent adverse event, mostly grade 1 or 2. Grade ≥3 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia occurred, respectively, in 57.6% and 12.1% (arm T) and 84.8% and 36.4% (arm T/L) of patients. Nonhematologic toxicities occurred at similar rates among arms. R-CHOP mean relative dose intensity was ≥89% in both arms. EoT ORR was 75.8% (CR 72.7%) in arm T and 81.8% (CR 66.7%) in arm T/L; best ORR across visits was 90.0% and 93.9%. Eighteen-month duration of response and of CR rates were 72.7% and 74.5% (arm T) and 78.7% and 86.5% (arm T/L); 24-month progression-free and overall survival rates were 72.7% and 90.3% (arm T) and 76.8% and 93.8% (arm T/L). Manageable safety and promising signals of efficacy were observed in both arms. Potential benefit of adding tafasitamab + lenalidomide to R-CHOP is being investigated in phase 3 frontMIND (NCT04824092). This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT04134936.

Long-term outcomes from the phase II L-MIND study of tafasitamab (MOR208) plus lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Not available.

A phase 2a, single-arm, open-label study of tafasitamab, a humanized, Fc-modified, anti-CD19 antibody, in patients with relapsed/refractory B-precursor cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

BACKGROUND: B-precursor cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in adults is an aggressive and challenging condition, and patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), or noncandidates for SCT, have a particularly poor prognosis. The authors investigated the activity of the Fc-modified anti-CD19 antibody tafasitamab in adults with R/R B-ALL (NCT01685021). METHODS: Adults with R/R B-ALL received single-agent tafasitamab 12 mg/kg weekly for up to four 28-day cycles. Patients with complete remission (with or without neutrophil/platelet recovery; complete remission [CR] or complete remission with incomplete count recovery [CRi]) after cycles 2, 3, or 4 could continue tafasitamab every 2 weeks for up to 3 further months. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR). RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were treated (median, 2 prior lines of therapy; range, 1-8). Six patients completed 2 cycles, and 2 of these patients responded for an ORR of 9%; 16 patients (73%) progressed before their first response assessment. Responses lasted 8 and 4 weeks in the 2 patients with CR and minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative CRi, respectively. Tafasitamab produced rapid B-cell/blast depletion in 21 of 22 patients within 1 to 2 weeks of first administration. Tafasitamab was well tolerated, with the most frequent adverse events being infusion-related reactions (59.1%) and fatigue (40.9%). Grade 3 to 4 febrile neutropenia (22.7%) was the most common hematologic adverse event. CONCLUSIONS: Tafasitamab monotherapy was associated with clinical activity in a subset of patients with R/R B-ALL, including short-lasting CR and MRD-negative CRi. Given its favorable tolerability profile, further development of tafasitamab in chemoimmunotherapy combinations and MRD settings should be explored.

Tafasitamab combined with idelalisib or venetoclax in patients with CLL previously treated with a BTK inhibitor.

Patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (R/R CLL) whose treatment failed with a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor have poor outcomes. We investigated tafasitamab plus idelalisib (cohort A) or venetoclax (cohort B) in this patient population in a phase II study (NCT02639910). In total, 24 patients were enrolled (cohort A: n = 11, median time on study, 7.4 months; cohort B: n = 13, median time on study, 15.6 months). The most common treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) in cohort A was anemia (63.6%) and in cohort B was infusion-related reaction (53.8%). The most common severe TEAE was neutropenia (cohort A: 45.5%; cohort B: 46.2%). The best overall response rate was 90.9% (cohort A) and 76.9% (cohort B). Undetectable minimal residual disease in peripheral blood was achieved in 2/8 patients (cohort A) and 6/7 patients (cohort B). Overall, these results suggest that anti-CD19 antibody-based combinations may be important in the treatment of patients with CLL.

Long-term outcomes from the Phase II L-MIND study of tafasitamab (MOR208) plus lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Tafasitamab (MOR208), an Fc-modified, humanized, anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody, combined with the immunomodulatory drug lenalidomide was clinically active with a good tolerability profile in the open-label, single-arm, phase II L-MIND study of patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) ineligible for autologous stem-cell transplantation. To assess long-term outcomes, we report an updated analysis with ≥35 months' follow-up. Patients were aged >18 years, had received one to three prior systemic therapies (including ≥1 CD20-targeting regimen) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2. Patients received 28-day cycles of tafasitamab (12 mg/kg intravenously), once weekly during cycles 1-3, then every 2 weeks during cycles 4-12. Lenalidomide (25 mg orally) was administered on days 1-21 of cycles 1-12. After cycle 12, progression-free patients received tafasitamab every 2 weeks until disease progression. The primary endpoint was best objective response rate. After ≥35 months' follow-up (data cut-off: October 30, 2020), the objective response rate was 57.5% (n=46/80), including a complete response in 40.0% of patients (n=32/80) and a partial response in 17.5% of patients (n=14/80). The median duration of response was 43.9 months (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 26.1-not reached), the median overall survival was 33.5 months (95% CI: 18.3-not reached) and the median progression-free survival was 11.6 months (95% CI: 6.3-45.7). There were no unexpected toxicities. Subgroup analyses revealed consistent long-term efficacy results across most subgroups of patients. This extended follow-up of L-MIND confirms the long duration of response, meaningful overall survival, and well-defined safety profile of tafasitamab plus lenalidomide followed by tafasitamab monotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02399085.

Tafasitamab plus lenalidomide in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (L-MIND): a multicentre, prospective, single-arm, phase 2 study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who are ineligible for autologous stem-cell transplantation have poor outcomes and few treatment options. Tafasitamab (MOR208) is an Fc-enhanced, humanised, anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody that has shown preclinical and single-agent activity in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. Preclinical data suggested that tafasitamab might act synergistically with lenalidomide. We aimed to assess the antitumour activity and safety of tafasitamab plus lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who were ineligible for autologous stem-cell transplantation. METHODS: In this multicentre, open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study (L-MIND), patients older than 18 years with histologically confirmed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, who relapsed or had refractory disease after previous treatment with one to three systemic regimens (with at least one anti-CD20 therapy), were not candidates for high-dose chemotherapy and subsequent autologous stem-cell transplantation, had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2, and had measurable disease at baseline were recruited from 35 academic and community hospitals in ten countries. Patients received coadministered intravenous tafasitamab (12 mg/kg) and oral lenalidomide (25 mg/day) for up to 12 cycles (28 days each), followed by tafasitamab monotherapy (in patients with stable disease or better) until disease progression. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with an objective response (centrally assessed), defined as a complete or partial response according to the 2007 International Working Group response criteria for malignant lymphoma. Antitumour activity analyses are based on all patients who received at least one dose of both tafasitamab and lenalidomide; safety analyses are based on all patients who received at least one dose of either study medication. Recruitment is complete, and the trial is in follow-up. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02399085. FINDINGS: Between Jan 18, 2016, and Nov 15, 2017, 156 patients were screened: 81 were enrolled and received at least one dose of either study medication, and 80 received at least one dose of both tafasitamab and lenalidomide. Median follow-up was 13·2 months (IQR 7·3-20·4) as of data cutoff on Nov 30, 2018. 48 (60%; 95% CI 48-71) of 80 patients who received tafasitamab plus lenalidomide had an objective response: 34 (43%; 32-54) had a complete response and 14 (18%; 10-28) had a partial response. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events of grade 3 or worse were neutropenia (39 [48%] of 81 patients), thrombocytopenia (14 [17%]), and febrile neutropenia (ten [12%]). Serious adverse events occurred in 41 (51%) of 81 patients. The most frequently reported serious adverse events (in two or more patients) were pneumonia (five [6%]), febrile neutropenia (five [6%]), pulmonary embolism (three [4%]), bronchitis (two [2%]), atrial fibrillation (two [2%]), and congestive cardiac failure (two [2%]). INTERPRETATION: Tafasitamab in combination with lenalidomide was well tolerated and resulted in a high proportion of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma ineligible for autologous stem-cell transplantation having a complete response, and might represent a new therapeutic option in this setting. FUNDING: MorphoSys.

Randomized phase 1b trial of MOR103, a human antibody to GM-CSF, in multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and immunogenicity of the recombinant human monoclonal antibody MOR103 to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with clinical or MRI activity. METHODS: In this 20-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1b dose-escalation trial (registration number NCT01517282), adults with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) or secondary progressive MS (SPMS) received an IV infusion of placebo (n = 6) or MOR103 0.5 (n = 8), 1.0 (n = 8), or 2.0 (n = 9) mg/kg every 2 weeks for 10 weeks. Patients had to have ≤10 gadolinium (Gd)-enhancing brain lesions on T1-weighted MRI at baseline. The primary objective was safety. RESULTS: Most treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were mild to moderate in severity. The most frequent was nasopharyngitis. Between-group differences in TEAE numbers were small. There were no TEAE-related trial discontinuations, infusion-related reactions, or deaths. Nine patients experienced MS exacerbations: 3, 5, 1, and 0 patient(s) in the placebo, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg groups, respectively. A few T1 Gd-enhancing lesions and/or new or enlarging T2 lesions indicative of inflammation were observed in all treatment groups. No clinically significant changes were observed in other clinical assessments or laboratory safety assessments. No anti-MOR103 antibodies were detected. PK evaluations indicated dose linearity with low/no drug accumulation over time. CONCLUSIONS: MOR103 was generally well-tolerated in patients with RRMS or SPMS. No evidence of immunogenicity was found. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This phase 1b study provides Class I evidence that MOR103 has acceptable tolerability in patients with MS.