{"id":3563,"date":"2025-06-21T18:28:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T12:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/?p=3563"},"modified":"2025-06-27T14:35:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T09:05:18","slug":"talquetamab-as-a-bridge-closing-the-gap-to-bcma-car-t-in-relapsed-refractory-multiple-myeloma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/talquetamab-as-a-bridge-closing-the-gap-to-bcma-car-t-in-relapsed-refractory-multiple-myeloma\/","title":{"rendered":"Talquetamab as a Bridge: Closing the Gap to BCMA CAR T in Relapsed\/Refractory Multiple Myeloma"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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20 June 2025<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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BCMA-targeted CAR T cell therapies like idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) and ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) have dramatically changed the treatment landscape for relapsed\/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). These therapies offer deep and durable responses, often where no other options remain.<\/p>

But there’s a catch\u2014a big one.<\/p>

Manufacturing delays of 6 to 8 weeks leave a critical window where patients can deteriorate rapidly. In fact, up to 25% of patients<\/strong> either progress or die before they can receive their CAR T infusion. This delay has created an urgent demand for bridging strategies<\/strong>: therapies that can control disease long enough to get patients to CAR T safely.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Enter Talquetamab<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Talquetamab (Talq) is a GPRC5D-targeting bispecific antibody recently approved for heavily pretreated RRMM. Unlike BCMA-targeted agents, Talq hits a completely different antigen\u2014making it a powerful option for patients who\u2019ve already seen anti-BCMA therapies or are heading toward them.<\/p>

Here\u2019s what makes Talq uniquely suited as a CAR T bridge:<\/p>

  • No cross-resistance<\/strong> with BCMA-directed therapies<\/li>
  • Rapid disease debulking<\/strong><\/li>
  • Generally well-tolerated<\/strong>, even in frail or high-risk patients<\/li><\/ul>


    But does it work in practice?<\/p>

    A recent multicenter, retrospective study across 14 major academic centres<\/strong> aimed to find out.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    The Study at a Glance<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    • Patients:<\/strong> 77 with RRMM<\/li>
    • Setting:<\/strong> Talquetamab used after leukapheresis and before planned CAR T<\/li>
    • Objective:<\/strong> Assess safety, feasibility, and efficacy<\/strong> of Talq as bridging therapy<\/li>
    • Median age:<\/strong> 66<\/li>
    • High-risk features:<\/strong>
      • 45% with high-risk cytogenetics<\/li>
      • 43% with extramedullary disease<\/li>
      • 73% triple-class refractory<\/li>
      • 13% had prior BCMA therapy<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        Talquetamab Bridging: Efficacy & Safety<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        • Dose:<\/strong> 0.8 mg\/kg biweekly (in 76% of patients)<\/li>
        • Median duration:<\/strong> 22 days<\/li>
        • Response rate:<\/strong> 62% (among 72 evaluable patients)
          • 14 achieved uCR<\/strong><\/li>
          • 10 VGPR<\/strong>, 21 PR<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>


            Toxicities:<\/strong><\/p>

            • No grade \u22653 cytokine release syndrome (CRS)<\/li>
            • 2.5% grade 3 neurotoxicity (ICANS)<\/li>
            • Mostly mild (Grade 1)<\/strong> oral (56%), skin (41%), and nail (25%) side effects<\/li>
            • 60% of these resolved by last follow-up<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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              Bridging to CAR T: Success Rates<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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              • Manufacturing success:<\/strong> 61 of 77 patients<\/li>
              • CAR T infused:<\/strong> 58 (45 cilta-cel, 13 ide-cel)<\/li>
              • Pre-infusion deaths due to progression:<\/strong> 3 (5%)<\/li>
              • Pending or failed manufacturing:<\/strong> 16 total<\/li><\/ul>


                Despite the high-risk population, 75% successfully received CAR T<\/strong>, a strong indication that Talq can hold the disease at bay during the manufacturing wait.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                CAR T Outcomes Post-Bridging<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                • CRS:<\/strong> Occurred in 65%, mostly mild; only 2 patients had Grade 3<\/li>
                • ICANS:<\/strong> Seen in 8.6%, with just one Grade 3 case<\/li>
                • No treatment-related deaths<\/strong><\/li>
                • Day +30 response rate:<\/strong> 97.5%
                  • 14 CR<\/strong>, 10 VGPR<\/strong>, 15 PR<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    Washout Timing: Does It Matter?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    • Median time from last Talq to CAR T infusion: 25 days<\/li>
                    • To lymphodepletion: 24 days<\/li>
                    • Importantly, no significant safety concerns were associated with the length of the washout period.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                      Key Takeaways<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                      • Talquetamab offers rapid disease control in high-risk RRMM<\/li>
                      • Most patients tolerated it well, with manageable side effects<\/li>
                      • Talq successfully bridged 75% of patients to CAR T<\/li>
                      • Post-CAR T responses remained exceptionally high<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                        Final Thoughts<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                        For patients with relapsed\/refractory multiple myeloma, every week counts<\/strong>. Talquetamab provides clinicians with a powerful tool to stabilize disease and safely get patients to their long-awaited CAR T therapy. It\u2019s not just a bridge\u2014it may be a lifesaving one.<\/p>

                        As CAR T therapies continue to expand, incorporating thoughtful, evidence-based bridging strategies like Talq could redefine how we sequence treatments in RRMM<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                        Have questions about Talquetamab or CAR T therapy access? Contact SunAct – Advanced Cancer Therapies.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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                        -\u00a0Medically reviewed by Dr. Bilal Kazi (Consultant, Cellular Therapy Expert & Stem Cell Transplant Physician) at SunAct - Advanced Cancer Therapies.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        20 June 2025 BCMA-targeted CAR T cell therapies like idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) and ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) have dramatically changed the treatment landscape for relapsed\/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). These therapies offer deep and durable responses, often where no other options remain. But there’s a catch\u2014a big one. Manufacturing delays of 6 to 8 weeks leave a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regisdigitals.com\/client\/Sunact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}