Promising Efficacy of Pivekimab Sunirine in Treating Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have reported encouraging results from a Phase I/II study on the antibody-drug conjugate pivekimab sunirine (PVEK) in treating blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), a rare and aggressive blood cancer. The study, led by Naveen Pemmaraju, M.D., and Naval Daver, M.D., demonstrated a high overall response rate of 85% and a complete response rate of 70% in 33 newly diagnosed patients with BPDCN, with a median overall survival of 16.6 months.

Key Takeaways:

• PVEK, a CD123-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, showed promising efficacy in treating BPDCN patients, with an overall response rate of 85% and a complete response rate of 70%.
• The median overall survival of patients who received PVEK was 16.6 months, indicating a significant improvement over current standard-of-care treatments.
• PVEK represents a next-generation CD123-targeted treatment approach, different from the current standard-of-care treatment, tagraxofusp-erzs.
• The most common side effects of PVEK were peripheral edema, which was reversible and manageable.
• Combination therapies of PVEK with other treatments active in BPDCN may be investigated in future clinical trials.

Statistics:

• 33 patients with newly diagnosed BPDCN were treated with PVEK, demonstrating an overall response rate of 85% and a complete response rate of 70%.
• The median overall survival of patients who received PVEK was 16.6 months.
• 51 patients with relapsed or refractory BPDCN with one, two, or three prior lines of therapy were enrolled in the study.
• 84 adult patients with CD123-positive BPDCN were enrolled in the global multi-center trial.

Sources:

• VerticalNews Health & Science, 2025 JUN 22
• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2025
• AbbVie
• NewsRx LLC, 2025