Adaptive Biotechnologies Announces New Clinical Data Demonstrating Impact of clonoSEQ® Assay on Patients with Blood Cancers at the 62nd ASH Annual Meeting

MRD assessment with clonoSEQ improves outcomes both for patients and the healthcare system, as patients with undetectable MRD may be able to discontinue active treatment

SEATTLE, Dec. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (Nasdaq: ADPT), a commercial stage biotechnology company that aims to translate the genetics of the adaptive immune system into clinical products to diagnose and treat disease, today announced new real-world data highlighting the clinical utility of Adaptive’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) clonoSEQ® Assay to assess minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with multiple myeloma. The data are being presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 62nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, held virtually December 5-8. Additional study results demonstrating the impact of Adaptive’s clonoSEQ Assay in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) are also being presented at the meeting in 45 other abstracts.

MRD refers to the small number of cancer cells that can remain in a patient’s body after treatment, which often cause no signs or symptoms but eventually can lead to recurrence of the disease. These residual cells can be present at very low levels and require highly sensitive tests to identify them. clonoSEQ, which is the only FDA-cleared test for MRD assessment in lymphoid malignancies, is highly accurate, sensitive, and standardized compared to other technologies.

“The data presented at ASH this year reflect the growing evidence supporting clonoSEQ’s ability to provide meaningful benefit for patients with blood cancers in a variety of clinical settings,” said Lance Baldo, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Adaptive Biotechnologies. “It is increasingly clear that MRD testing with clonoSEQ, utilizing our immune medicine platform, is playing an important role in treatment decision-making which can have a dramatic impact not only on patients, but could also enable cost savings for the healthcare system overall.”

Real-world evidence generated by clinicians at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and in Madrid demonstrated that MRD-based decision-making with the clonoSEQ Assay improved outcomes for multiple myeloma patients. This study will be presented in a poster presentation titled, “Making Clinical Decisions to Change Therapy Using Measurable Residual Disease Improves the Outcome in Multiple Myeloma” (Abstract 2273). The retrospective review evaluated 373 multiple myeloma patients from three health centers who had at least one MRD assessment. Of the 373 patients, physicians made a clinical decision to change treatment for 58 patients based on their MRD status. Results showed that these 58 patients had a significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus patients who did not change treatment (n=312) (median PFS 97 vs. 75 months, p=0.006).

“We are encouraged by these real-world data and the impact MRD testing can have on the way we manage patients who have had great but not perfect responses to therapy, and the way we can make earlier decisions,” said Jeffrey Wolf, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, UCSF; and Director, Myeloma Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. “These results support the integration of MRD assessment as a standard of care in the management of multiple myeloma patients. MRD assessment allows physicians and patients alike to have more confidence in their treatment decisions.”

Myeloma patient advocates agree that there are meaningful, practical real-world benefits for patients who undergo MRD testing.

“The ability to accurately monitor disease burden in multiple myeloma is critical when making decisions that impact each patient’s care,” said Daniel Auclair, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. “We are encouraged by the data emerging in MRD assessment, which we believe will help myeloma patients and their doctors better manage their disease.”

Patients may also benefit from potential MRD-informed treatment changes which may reduce the cost of their care. Additionally, researchers from the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University will present results from a poster presentation titled “Cost-Effectiveness of Implementing clonoSEQ NGS-MRD Testing Using the Emory MRD Decision Protocol in Multiple Myeloma” (Abstract 3426). This study evaluated a framework which allowed patients with sustained MRD negativity (defined as MRD