Bristol Myers, 2seventy bio halt enrollment in Abecma late-stage trial

Shares of 2seventy bio (NASDAQ:TSVT) lost ~16% in the premarket Wednesday after the cancer drug developer and its partner Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) announced plans to discontinue enrollment in an ongoing Phase 3 trial for their T cell immunotherapy, Abecma.

The study named KarMMa-9 targeted patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM), a type of bone marrow cancer, who have had an inadequate response to autologous stem cell transplant.

The global trial was designed to evaluate Abecma, a CAR-T cell therapy, with lenalidomide, a multiple myeloma therapy marketed by Bristol Myers (BMY) as Revlimid, versus lenalidomide monotherapy.

The decision followed a thorough review of the business rationale for the study and reflects a vastly improved NDMM treatment landscape, the companies said.

As enrollments for KarMMa-9 come to a halt, the duo expects to save more than $80M in near-term expenses, speeding up 2seventy bio’s (TSVT) plans to reach breakeven status.

Updating on the latest Abecma sales, 2seventy bio (TSVT) said Q3 revenue growth for the drug in the U.S. is expected to reach roughly 30% from Q2’s $54M revenue. New patient starts for Q3 are also estimated to reflect double-digit growth from the preceding quarter.

Legend Biotech (LEGN) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), which jointly develop FDA-approved CAR-T cell therapy Carvykti, are among the direct competitors of 2seventy bio (TSVT) and Bristol Myers (BMY) in the market for multiple myeloma therapies.