From 6-9 December Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE) attended the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Over 20,000 researchers, doctors, nurses and patient advocates attended the meeting to share and discuss the results of the latest research from across blood cancers.

ASH was a great way to close out another successful year at MPE, meeting with our medical, advocacy and industry partners and hearing about groundbreaking research in myeloma and AL amyloidosis. We were also privileged to present data from our own patient research Myeloma patients’ attitudes and perceived burden of treatment administration routes and locations: insights from a pan-European survey, which will soon be published in the journal Frontiers.

Below we outline the key updates in myeloma. You can see our AL amyloidosis summary interview and also register for our ASH myeloma highlights webinar.

Key myeloma updates

• Bispecific antibodies are transforming outcomes

Without a doubt, the main highlight of ASH 2025 were the results of the MajesTEC-3 clinical trial. Watch a lay friendly summary with Dr. Charlotte Pawlyn from Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London.

MajesTEC-3 is a large research study testing the combination of teclistamab (a bispecific antibody) and daratumumab (a monoclonal antibody) for patients after one – three prior lines of therapy. The teclistamab and daratumumab (Tec-Dara) combination was compared to daratumumab in combination with either pomalidomide or bortezomib with dexamethasone (DPd or DVd).

Most trials of bispecific antibodies have looked at their role in heavily pretreated myeloma patients. MajesTEC-3 is one of the first trials to show clear and unprecedented benefits of using these medicines earlier on in the myeloma pathway, in combination with other myeloma medicines.

An important note for patients to consider are the high infection rates in the Tec-Dara arm, which is consistent with other trials of bispecific antibodies. Whilst the risk of infection reduces over time and was treated in the trial with IV (intravenous – through the vein) immunoglobulins (IG) there is much discussion in the myeloma community about the role and access to IVIG to ensure that patients can receive bispecific antibody therapies safely.

We will be following the ongoing results of MajesTEC-3 with interest. We are also interested in the potential of bispecific combinations when used in newly diagnosed patients, where drugs typically get the best responses and how the community will work to seek access for these medicines.

• New CAR-Ts may be more efficient and less toxic

Very early results were presented at ASH on in vivo CAR T-cell therapy (CAR-T). The currently approved CAR-Ts in Europe require  a patient’s immune cells (T-cells) to be taken out of their body and programmed to find and kill myeloma cells. In vivo CAR-T is where the patient’s immune cells are programmed within their body. If successful, this could mean an easier and quicker way of administering CAR-T without the need for chemotherapy whilst a patient waits for treatment.

The inMMyCAR clinical trial showed results from four myeloma patients of a CAR-T called KLN1010. KLN1010 targets BCMA which is expressed on the surface of myeloma cells. This is the first time it has been used in patients. Whilst very early, the data showed very good responses in treated patients and no serious instances of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or Immune Effector Cell Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome (ICANs) – two side-effects that are typical to CAR-T.

View an interview with author Dr. Phoebe Joy Ho from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia.

Key discussions also centred around anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel) – a BCMA CAR-T that is likely to be assessed by health authorities in the near future. Updated results of the IMMagine-1 trial again highlighted that anito-cel continues to show strong responses in relapsed myeloma patients. The side-effects reported seem to be less frequent and less severe than in other trials for similar BCMA CAR-T.

Finally, there were also a range of presentations on early and existing CAR-T therapies. Of note, the Durga-1 trial looked at optimum dosing for a “dual target CAR-T” called AZD0120. You can learn more about this here.

Most CAR T-cells are programmed to find the BCMA protein expressed on the surface of myeloma cells. Once found, it binds to and kills the myeloma cell. In the DURGA-1 trial, the CAR-T cells are programmed to find two different proteins expressed on the surface of myeloma cells – BCMA and CD19. Both BCMA and CD19 are widely expressed, making them complimentary targets for treatment. Whilst very early, the data shows promise for further exploration in myeloma. It also used FasTCAR technology which aims to manufacture CAR-T quickly, reducing delays for patients.

• We look forward to what the coming year brings for myeloma research

While we can’t include every update from ASH 2025 here, if you are interested in seeing more interviews about the data, please visit our our ASH 2025 summary video interviews.

You can also register for our ASH myeloma highlights webinar here.

On a final note, with the volume of research and developments we are seeing this year in myeloma, we are looking forward to what 2026 will bring in terms of exploring new ways to optimise myeloma treatment and offer patients more effective, less burdensome medicines. We will continue to engage with our members and stakeholders to consider what these advancements mean for patients in Europe and how we can collaborate to improve access to innovative therapies.

If you have any questions or comments about ASH 2025 and the data, please, contact info@mpeurope.org