Epcoritamab works by engaging the immune system to kill cancer cells
Rye Brook, N.Y., June 27, 2024 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday approved epcoritamab (Epkinly™) to treat adults with follicular lymphoma that has come back (relapsed) or that did not respond (refractory) to two or more earlier types of treatment.
“Follicular lymphoma becomes increasingly more difficult to treat with each recurrence, making new treatments like epcoritamab critical,” said Lee Greenberger, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). “Today’s approval is welcome news for patients, as it provides another important treatment option for this difficult to treat blood cancer.
LLS is supporting cutting edge follicular lymphoma research
Follicular lymphoma is the most common form of slow growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but it becomes more aggressive and difficult to treat with each relapse and making it essential to find new treatments. In addition to making its own investments in cutting edge follicular lymphoma research, LLS partners with like-minded organizations to expand its impact.
Earlier this month, LLS announced a new partnership with the Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation to invest up to $20 million to speed research into new therapies that better control and cure follicular lymphoma. LLS previously announced a partnership with the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation, which is also focused on accelerating follicular lymphoma research.
Epcoritamab works by engaging the immune system, showed strong results in clinical trial
In the clinical trial leading to the FDA approval, 82% of patients who received epcoritamab achieved a response to treatment and 63% had a complete response, meaning there was no detectable cancer. More than half of the patients maintained a response to epcoritamab for more than 17 months.
Learn more about the more than 50 non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes
Epcoritamab is a bispecific antibody, meaning that it works on two different targets. One part of the antibody binds to immune T cells, while the other binds the surface of cancer cells. This dual targeting helps the T cells zero in on and kill the cancer cells. LLS is a long-time champion of new approaches that use the immune system to fight blood cancer.
Epcoritamab was first approved last year for use in adults with DLBCL and other high-grade B-cell lymphomas whose blood cancer had stopped responding to or returned after two previous treatments.
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