Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of neurologic toxicities (Table 2). Rule out other causes of neurologic signs or symptoms. Provide intensive care supportive therapy for severe or life-threatening neurologic toxicities. If neurologic toxicity is suspected, manage according to the recommendations in Table 2.
- Corticosteroids according to the more aggressive intervention based on the CRS and neurologic toxicity grades in Tables 1 and 2
- Tocilizumab according to CRS grade in Table 1
- Antiseizure medication according to neurologic toxicity in Table 2
Table 2: Neurologic Toxicity Grading and Management Guidance| Neurologic Toxicity Gradea | Corticosteroids and Antiseizure Medications |
|---|
| a NCI CTCAE criteria for grading neurologic toxicities version 4.03. |
| Grade 1 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. If 72 hours or more after infusion, observe patient. If less than 72 hours after infusion, consider dexamethasone 10 mg IV every 12 to 24 hours for 2 to 3 days. |
| Grade 2 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. Start dexamethasone 10 mg IV every 12 hours for 2-3 days, or longer for persistent symptoms. Consider taper for a total corticosteroid exposure of greater than 3 days. Corticosteroids are not recommended for isolated Grade 2 headaches. If no improvement after 24 hours or worsening of neurologic toxicity, increase the dose and/or frequency of dexamethasone up to a maximum of 20 mg IV every 6 hours. |
| Grade 3 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. Start dexamethasone 10 to 20 mg IV every 6 to 12 hours. Corticosteroids are not recommended for isolated Grade 3 headaches. If no improvement after 24 hours or worsening of neurologic toxicity, escalate to methylprednisolone (2 mg/kg loading dose, followed by 2 mg/kg divided into 4 times a day; taper within 7 days). If cerebral edema is suspected, consider hyperventilation and hyperosmolar therapy. Give high-dose methylprednisolone (1-2 g, repeat every 24 hours if needed; taper as clinically indicated) and cyclophosphamide 1.5 g/m2. |
| Grade 4 | Start non-sedating, antiseizure medicines (e.g., levetiracetam) for seizure prophylaxis. Start dexamethasone 20 mg IV every 6 hours. If no improvement after 24 hours or worsening of neurologic toxicity, escalate to high-dose methylprednisolone (1-2 g, repeated every 24 hours if needed; taper as clinically indicated). If cerebral edema is suspected, consider hyperventilation and hyperosmolar therapy. Give high-dose methylprednisolone (1-2 g, repeat every 24 hours if needed; taper as clinically indicated), and cyclophosphamide 1.5 g/m2. |
Viral Reactivation
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection resulting in pneumonia and death has occurred following ABECMA administration. Monitor and treat for CMV reactivation in accordance with clinical guidelines.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation, in some cases resulting in fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, and death, can occur in patients treated with drugs directed against plasma cells.
Perform screening for CMV, HBV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in accordance with clinical guidelines before collection of cells for manufacturing.
Consider antiviral therapy to prevent viral reactivation per local institutional guidelines/clinical practice.
Use of Live Vaccines
The safety of immunization with live viral vaccines during or following ABECMA treatment has not been studied. Vaccination with live virus vaccines is not recommended for at least 6 weeks prior to the start of lymphodepleting chemotherapy, during ABECMA treatment, and until immune recovery following treatment with ABECMA.
Laboratory Abnormalities
Table 4 presents the most common Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities, based on laboratory data, occurring in at least 10% of patients.
Table 4: Grade 3 or 4a Laboratory Abnormalities Worsening from Baseline in at Least 10% of Patients Treated with ABECMA in the KarMMa Study| Laboratory Abnormality | Dose=[150 to 450 × 106 CAR-Positive T cells] (N=127) % |
|---|
| aNCI CTCAE=Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.03. |
aPTT=activated partial thromboplastin time; CAR=chimeric antigen receptor; CTCAE=Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events; NCI=National Cancer Institute. Laboratory tests were graded according to NCI CTCAE Version 4.03. Laboratory abnormalities are sorted by decreasing frequency in the 150 to 450 × 106 column. |
| Grade 3 or 4 (%) |
| Neutropenia | 96 |
| Leukopenia | 96 |
| Lymphopenia | 92 |
| Thrombocytopenia | 63 |
| Anemia | 63 |
| Hypophosphatemia | 45 |
| Hyponatremia | 10 |
| aPTT Increased (seconds) | 10 |
Other clinically important Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities (based on laboratory data) that occurred in less than 10% of patients treated with ABECMA include the following: alanine aminotransferase increased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, hypoalbuminemia, alkaline phosphatase increased, hyperglycemia, hypokalemia, bilirubin increased, hypofibrinogenemia, and hypocalcemia.
Drug/Laboratory Test Interactions
HIV and the lentivirus used to make ABECMA have limited, short spans of identical genetic material (RNA). Therefore, some commercial HIV nucleic acid tests may yield false-positive results in patients who have received ABECMA.
Risk Summary
There are no available data with ABECMA use in pregnant women. No animal reproductive and developmental toxicity studies have been conducted with ABECMA to assess whether it can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman.
It is not known if ABECMA has the potential to be transferred to the fetus. Based on the mechanism of action, if the transduced cells cross the placenta, they may cause fetal toxicity, including plasma cell aplasia or hypogammaglobulinemia. Therefore, ABECMA is not recommended for women who are pregnant, and pregnancy after ABECMA infusion should be discussed with the treating physician. Assess immunoglobulin levels in newborns of mothers treated with ABECMA.
The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. The estimated background risk in the U.S. general population of major birth defects is 2% to 4% and of miscarriage is 15% to 20% of clinically recognized pregnancies.
Risk Summary
There is no information regarding the presence of ABECMA in human milk, the effect on the breastfed infant, and the effects on milk production. The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother's clinical need for ABECMA and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed infant from ABECMA or from the underlying maternal condition.
Pregnancy Testing
Pregnancy status of sexually-active females with reproductive potential should be verified via pregnancy testing prior to starting treatment with ABECMA.
Contraception
See the prescribing information for fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for information on the need for effective contraception in patients who receive the lymphodepleting chemotherapy.
There are insufficient exposure data to provide a recommendation concerning duration of contraception following treatment with ABECMA.
Infertility
There are no data on the effect of ABECMA on fertility.
Tocilizumab and Corticosteroid Use
Some patients required tocilizumab and/or corticosteroid for the management of CRS. ABECMA can continue to expand and persist following tocilizumab or corticosteroid administration [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].
Patients with CRS treated with tocilizumab had higher ABECMA cellular expansion levels, as measured by 1.3-fold and 1.6-fold higher median Cmax (N = 67) and AUC0-28days (N = 66), respectively, compared to patients who did not receive tocilizumab (N = 59 for Cmax and N = 58 for AUC0-28days).
Patients with CRS treated with corticosteroids had higher ABECMA cellular expansion levels, as measured by 1.7-fold and 2.2-fold higher median Cmax (N = 18) and AUC0-28days (N = 18), respectively, compared to patients who did not receive corticosteroids (N = 108 for Cmax and N = 106 for AUC0-28days).
Specific Populations
Geriatric
Age (range: 33 to 78 years) had no significant impact on expansion parameters [see Use in Special Populations (8.5)].
Pediatric
The pharmacokinetics of ABECMA in patients less than 18 years of age have not been evaluated.
Patients with Hepatic/Renal Impairment
Hepatic and renal impairment studies of ABECMA were not conducted.
Patients with Other Intrinsic Factors
Gender, race, and ethnicity had no significant impact on ABECMA expansion parameters. Patients with lower body weight had higher expansion. Due to high variability in pharmacokinetic cellular expansion, the overall effect of weight on the pharmacokinetics of ABECMA is considered to be not clinically relevant.
Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Efficacy of ABECMA was evaluated in KarMMa (NCT03361748), an open-label, single-arm, multicenter study in adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who had received at least 3 prior lines of antimyeloma therapy including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. The study included patients with ECOG performance status of 0 or 1. The study excluded patients with a creatinine clearance of less than or equal to 45 mL/minute, alanine aminotransferase >2.5 times upper limit of normal and left ventricular ejection fraction <45%. Patients were also excluded if absolute neutrophil count <1000 cells/mm3 and platelet count <50,000/mm3. Patients had measurable disease by International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) 2016 criteria at enrollment. Bridging therapy with alkylating agents, corticosteroids, immunomodulatory agents, proteasome inhibitors, and/or anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies to which patients were previously exposed was permitted for disease control between apheresis and until 14 days before the start of lymphodepleting chemotherapy.
Lymphodepleting chemotherapy consisted of cyclophosphamide (300 mg/m2 IV infusion daily for 3 days) and fludarabine (30 mg/m2 IV infusion daily for 3 days) starting 5 days prior to the target infusion date of ABECMA. Fludarabine was dose reduced for renal insufficiency. Patients were hospitalized for 14 days after ABECMA infusion to monitor for potential CRS, HLH/MAS, and neurotoxicity.
Of the 135 patients who underwent leukapheresis for 300 × 106 and 450 × 106 CAR-positive T cell dose cohorts:
- 11 (8%) did not receive the CAR-positive T cells either due to death (n=2), adverse event (n=1), disease progression (n=1), consent withdrawal (n=3), physician decision (n=3), or inability to manufacture product [manufacturing failure (n=1)]. Two patients died after receiving lymphodepletion and prior to receiving ABECMA. Deaths were from septic shock and general physical health deterioration.
- 24 (18%) either received ABECMA outside of the 300 to 460 × 106 CAR-positive T cells dose range (n=23) or received CAR-positive T cells that did not meet product release specifications for ABECMA (non-conforming product; n=1).
- The efficacy evaluable population consists of the 100 patients (74%) who received ABECMA in the dose range of 300 to 460 × 106 CAR-positive T cells.
The overall manufacturing failure rate for patients who underwent leukapheresis for the 300 × 106 and 450 × 106 CAR-positive T cell dose cohorts was 1.5% (2 out of 135 patients). Of these 2 patients, one received CAR-positive T cells that did not meet product release specifications for ABECMA, and in one patient there was an inability to manufacture ABECMA.
Of the 100 patients in the efficacy evaluable population, the median age was 62 years (range: 33 to 78 years), 60% were male, 78% were white, 6% were black, and 2% were Asian. Most patients (78%) were International Staging System (ISS) Stage I or II. High-risk cytogenetics (presence of t(4:14), t(14:16), and 17p13 del) were present in 37% of patients. Thirty-six percent of the patients had presence of extramedullary disease.
The median number of prior lines of therapy was 6 (range: 3 to 16), and 88% of the patients received 4 or more prior lines of therapy. Ninety-five percent of the patients were refractory to an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. Eighty-five percent were triple class refractory (refractory to a proteasome inhibitor [PI], an immunomodulatory drug [IMiD] and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody), and 26% were penta-refractory (refractory to 2 PIs, 2 IMiD agents, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody). Ninety-two percent had received prior autologous stem cell transplantation.
Most patients (87%) treated with ABECMA received bridging therapy for control of their multiple myeloma during the manufacturing process. The median time from leukapheresis to product availability was 33 days (range: 26 to 49 days).
Efficacy was established on the basis of overall response rate (ORR), complete response (CR) rate, and duration of response (DOR), as assessed by the Independent Response committee (IRC) based on the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) Uniform Response Criteria for Multiple Myeloma.
Efficacy results for the dose range of 300 to 460 × 106 CAR-positive T cells are shown in Table 6 and Table 7, and the DOR results are shown in Table 8. The median time to first response was 30 days (range: 15 to 88 days).
Table 6: Summary of Efficacy Based on Independent Response Committee Review According to IMWG Criteria | ABECMA-Treated Population (300 to 460 × 106 CAR-Positive T Cells) N=100 |
|---|
| CAR=chimeric antigen receptor; CI=confidence interval; CR=complete response; MRD=Minimal Residual Disease; IMWG=International Myeloma Working Group; PR=partial response; sCR=stringent complete response; VGPR=very good partial response. |
| a All complete responses were stringent CRs. |
| b: Clopper-Pearson exact CI. |
Overall Response Rate (sCRa+VGPR+PR), n (%) 95% CIb (%) | 72 (72) 62, 81 |
sCRa, n (%) 95% CIb (%) | 28 (28) 19, 38 |
VGPR, n (%) 95% CIb (%) | 25 (25) 17, 35 |
PR, n (%) 95% CIb (%) | 19 (19) 12, 28 |
Table 7: MRD Negativity Rate| a MRD negativity was defined as the proportion of patients with CR or stringent CR who are MRD negative at any timepoint within 3 months prior to achieving CR or stringent CR until the time of progression or death. |
| b Clopper-Pearson exact CI. |
| c Based on a threshold of 10-5 using ClonoSEQ, a next-generation sequencing assay (NGS). |
| MRDc-negativity ratea in all treated patients (n=100) | 21 (21) |
| 95% CIb (%) | 13, 30 |
| MRDc-negativity ratea in patients achieving CR or sCR status (%) (n=28) | 21 (75) |
| 95% CIb | 55, 89 |
Table 8: Duration of Response | ABECMA-Treated Population (300 to 460 × 106 CAR-Positive T Cells) N=100 |
|---|
| CAR=chimeric antigen receptor; CI=confidence interval; CR=complete response; PR=partial response; sCR=stringent complete response; VGPR=very good partial response; NE=not estimable. |
| a Response is defined as achieving sCR, CR, VGPR, or PR according to IMWG criteria. |
| b Median and 95% CI are based on Kaplan-Meier estimation. |
| Duration of Responsea,b (PR or Better) | |
| n | 72 |
| Median (months) | 11.0 |
| 95% CI | 10.3, 11.4 |
| Duration of Responseb for sCR | |
| n | 28 |
| Median (months) | 19.0 |
| 95% CI | 11.4, NE |
| Median follow-up for duration of response (DOR) | 10.7 months |
Response durations were longer in patients who achieved a stringent CR as compared to patients with a PR or VGPR (Table 8). Of the 28 patients who achieved a stringent CR, it is estimated that 65% (95% CI: 42%, 81%) had a remission lasting at least 12 months.
The median duration of response for VGPR patients (n=25) was 11.1 months (95% CI: 8.7, 11.3).
The median duration of response for PR patients (n=19) was 4.0 months (95% CI: 2.7, 7.2).
Within the recommended dose of 300 to 460 × 106 CAR-positive T cells, a dose-response relationship was observed with higher ORR and sCR rate in patients who received 440 to 460 × 106 compared to 300 to 340 × 106 CAR-positive T cells. Overall response rate of 79% (95% CI: 65%, 90%) and sCR rate of 31% (95% CI: 19%, 46%) was observed with 440 to 460 × 106 CAR-positive T cells. Overall response rate of 65% (95% CI: 51%, 78%) with sCR rate of 25% (95% CI: 14%, 39%) was observed in 300 to 340 × 106 CAR-positive T cells.
One hundred and thirty-five patients underwent leukapheresis. Fifteen out of the 23 patients who received treatment outside of the recommended dose range of 300 to 460 × 106 CAR-positive T cells experienced a response in addition to the responses noted in Table 6. The IRC assessed overall response in the leukapheresis population (n=135) was 64% (95% CI: 56%, 72%) with stringent CR rate of 24% (95% CI: 17%, 32%), VGPR rate of 21% (95% CI: 14%, 29%) and PR rate of 20% (95% CI: 14%, 28%).
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