NEW ORLEANS – A first-of-its-kind drug known as modakafusp alfa has shown early potential in combating multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, in a study presented by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting (Abstract 565).Patients in the Phase I/II multicenter trial (NCT03215030) receiving 1.5 milligrams of modakafusp every four weeks, 43 percent saw a partial response, or a decrease in their cancer by over 50 percent.In this trial, modakafusp made a positive difference in people for whom drugs aimed at the same target, including well-established monoclonal antibodies like daratumumab and isatuximab, were no longer effective.We saw responses in patients whose cancer did not respond to or who experienced a relapse after receiving the anti-CD38 antibody drugs that are currently on the market,” Vogl said.Vogl and his colleagues are now enrolling patients in a randomized phase II study, which is designed to identify the optimal dose of modakafusp and provide more information about its effectiveness in people with myeloma."