AbbVie blood cancer therapy cuts disease progression risk by 60% in late-stage trial

AbbVie (ABBV) said its experimental blood cancer therapy etentamig met the primary endpoints of a late-stage trial, reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 60 per cent compared with standard treatments and delivering an objective response rate of 74 per cent in patients with refractory multiple myeloma — well above the 45.7 per cent recorded by investigator-chosen alternatives.

The 393-patient trial also showed that 87.9 per cent of patients receiving etentamig remained alive after 12 months, compared with 72 per cent of those on standard treatments. Participants had received a median of three prior lines of therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that has either returned after remission or stopped responding to treatment. Etentamig works by engaging T-cells — which protect against infection and fight cancer — through the targeting of two proteins.

The results arrive as AbbVie works to reduce its dependence on Humira, its once-dominant arthritis franchise now under sustained pressure from biosimilar competition. The company has pivoted toward acquisitions and new disease areas, particularly neuroscience and oncology, to sustain long-term growth.

Geoffrey Meacham, an analyst at Citi, said the data added credibility to AbbVie's oncology ambitions but stopped short of shifting the investment case. Commercial execution of newer drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq remained paramount, he said, while investors were increasingly focused on "whether additional transactions can deepen AbbVie's 2030s growth profile."

Meacham positioned etentamig as most differentiated as a post-CAR-T option rather than a direct rival to Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Carvykti or Gilead Sciences' (GILD) anito-cel. "CAR-T offers deep responses and a treatment holiday, while etentamig offers immediate availability, monthly administration and broader treatment-center access," he said.