Bristol Myers Squibb Breyanzi application accepted for priority review by USFDA for Marginal Zone Lymphoma

“While initial therapy for MZL can be effective, multiple relapses over the course of several years are common, leaving patients in need of a new treatment option that can provide high, lasting response rates,” said Rosanna Ricafort, vice president, Senior Global Program Lead for Hematology and Cell Therapy, Bristol Myers Squibb. “This FDA acceptance brings us one step closer to potentially standardizing CAR T cell therapy as a treatment option for MZL, while building on our commitment to bring this personalized therapy to as many eligible patients as possible.”

Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is the third most common lymphoma, accounting for about 7% of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases. Most patients with MZL are at a median age of 67 years when they are diagnosed. MZL develops when white blood cells cluster together to form lumps in a person’s lymph nodes or organs. Initial therapy often leads to remission, but relapse is common, sometimes occurring several times over many years. A small portion of MZL cases transform into diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma, a more aggressive lymphoma.

Breyanzi is a CD19-directed CAR T cell therapy with a 4-1BB costimulatory domain, which enhances the expansion and persistence of the CAR T cells. Breyanzi is made from a patient’s own T cells, which are collected and genetically reengineered to become CAR T cells that are then delivered via infusion as a one-time treatment. The treatment process includes blood collection, CAR T-cell creation, potential bridging therapy, lymphodepletion, administration, and side-effect monitoring.

Breyanzi is approved in the U.S. for the treatment of relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) after at least one prior line of therapy, has received accelerated approval for the treatment of relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) after at least two prior lines of therapy and relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) in the third-line plus setting, and is approved for the treatment of relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in the third-line plus setting. Breyanzi is also approved in Japan, the European Union (EU), Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Canada for the treatment of relapsed or refractory LBCL after at least one prior line of therapy; in Japan for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory high-risk FL after one prior line of systemic therapy, and in patients with relapsed or refractory FL after two or more lines of systemic therapy; and in the EU for the treatment of relapsed or refractory FL after two or more lines of systemic therapy.