Novel drug achieves high objective response rate in heavily pretreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Cancer Network News highlighted research led by the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center's Zulfa Omer that found a novel drug was generally well tolerated and demonstrated early efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Omer, MD, Cancer Center member and assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in UC's College of Medicine, and colleagues shared data from the Phase 1 NX-5948-301 trial at the 2025 European Hematology Association Congress.

The trial is testing a novel drug called bexobrutideg that targets the BTK enzyme in a population of heavily pretreated patients with advanced CLL. The drug was found to be well tolerated at all dose levels.

At a median follow-up of 9 months, 80.9% of patients had an objective response, meaning a complete or partial response to the treatment. Out of 48 patients enrolled, seven patients had stable disease, meaning the cancer did not progress or decrease while being treated with the drug. Two patients experienced disease progression.

“Robust and deepening responses were observed [with bexobrutideg]. Responses were rapid, with a median time to first response of 1.87 months,” Omer and her study coauthors wrote in the poster presentation. “...Of 18 patients treated for more than 12 months, 17 remain on the study, [and] 1 patient is approaching 2.5 years on treatment.”

Read the Cancer Network News article.

Featured photo at top of CLL cells viewed under a microscope. Photo/jxfzsy/iStock Photo.