What is the success rate for Carvykti for Multiple Myeloma?

In the CARTITUDE-1 study, 95 of 97 of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) responded to Carvykti after one infusion for an overall response rate of 98%.

Relapsed cancer is cancer that has come back and refractory cancer has stopped responding to treatment.

In this study, overall response rate (ORR) was defined as the total number of patients who had a stringent complete response, very good partial response and partial response to therapy.

• 76 of 97 people (78%) experienced a stringent complete response (sCR), which was the best possible response a participant could have towards treatment. A sCR is when your doctor is unable to observe any signs or symptoms of cancer via imaging or other tests after treatment.
• 16 of 97 people (17%) experienced a very good partial response (VGPR).
• 3 of 97 people (3%) experienced a partial response (PR).

How fast does Carvykti work?

The median time to reach a first response was one month after the Carvykti infusion, but this ranged from 0.9 months to 10.7 months.

A median time of one month means that one half of patients responded before one month, and one half responded later than one month, after treatment was given.

What does Carvykti treat?

Carvykti (generic name: ciltacabtagene autoleucel; cilta-cel) is approved for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), a cancer of the bone marrow.

It’s used after you have received 1 or more previous treatments and your cancer came back or you stopped responding. Your prior treatments include a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent, and you are refractory to lenalidomide, meaning it no longer works.

Carvykti is manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

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How long will Carvykti work for multiple myeloma?

In a clinical research study, half of the people treated with Carvykti kept responding to treatment for at least 21.8 months (the median duration of response).

In the 78% of patients who originally had the best possible response to Carvykti treatment (stringent complete response or sCR), the median duration of response was not yet met at 18 months of follow up. This means that more than 50% of patients in this group were still responding 18 months after treatment.

How does it work?

Carvykti is known as CAR-T cell therapy and works by using your own white blood cells (called T cells) to attack and kill the cancer.

CAR-T stands for “chimeric antigen receptor T” cell. T cells travel throughout our body looking for cancer cells, but sometimes the cancer develops a way to prevent the T cell from recognizing and killing it. Carvykti looks for special proteins found on the surface of the multiple myeloma cancer cell and normal plasma cells.

Carvykti is made by collecting your T cells from your blood and modifying them to create CAR-T cells, which you will then receive through a one-time infusion back into your body. These personalized CAR-T cells can grow in your body and are better able to find the cancer and help fight it.

Related: Carvykti side effects (in detail)

This is not all the information you need to know about Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel) for safe and effective use and does not take the place of your doctor’s directions. Review the full product information and discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider.