Blood Cancer Awareness Month: The Next Wave of Treatments Is Moving Deeper Into the Biology of Disease
From protein degradation and menin inhibition to targeted radiopharmaceuticals and off-the-shelf cell treatments, companies are testing new ways to treat blood cancers and overcome resistance.
September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, which puts leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other cancers of the blood and bone marrow in focus. The science behind these diseases is moving quickly.
For years, most progress in blood cancer came from better inhibitors of the proteins that keep malignant cells alive. That work continues. A newer group of treatments now eliminates disease-driving proteins outright, targets specific genetic alterations, delivers radiation directly into cancer cells or makes cell treatment available off the shelf. Nurix Therapeutics, Syndax Pharmaceuticals, ADC Therapeutics, Cellectar Biosciences and Fate Therapeutics each represent a different piece of that shift.
Nurix Tests Whether Destroying a Cancer Protein Beats Blocking It
Nurix Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NRIX) enrolled the first patient in August in DAYBreak CLL-306, the first Phase 3 study of bexobrutideg in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma.
Bexobrutideg targets Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, or BTK, for degradation rather than inhibition. The roughly 620-patient study compares it directly with pirtobrutinib, a non-covalent BTK inhibitor used after patients progress on earlier BTK treatment.
In Phase 1, heavily pretreated CLL/SLL patients showed an 83% objective response rate and median progression-free survival of 22.1 months, with responses also seen in patients carrying BTK resistance mutations. Roche now shares development through a global collaboration that included a $700 million upfront payment and could be worth up to $2.3 billion including potential milestones.
The Phase 3 trial will test whether degrading BTK produces better outcomes than inhibiting it.
Syndax Aims to Bring Its Approved Leukemia Drug to Newly Diagnosed Patients
Syndax Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SNDX) already has its drug on the market. Revuforj is the first FDA-approved menin inhibitor and is approved for certain patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemia. Second-quarter net revenue reached $54.7 million, up 91% year over year.
Syndax is now moving the drug earlier in treatment. Two pivotal Phase 3 studies are evaluating revumenib-based combinations in newly diagnosed AML, and additional studies span frontline disease, post-transplant maintenance and measurable residual disease.
Menin inhibition attacks a molecular dependency created by particular genetic alterations. It does not treat AML as a single disease.
ADC Therapeutics Looks for a Path to Earlier Use of Its Lymphoma Drug
ADC Therapeutics (NYSE: ADCT) markets ZYNLONTA, a CD19-targeted antibody-drug conjugate approved for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after two or more prior lines of systemic treatment. Second-quarter net product revenue reached $18.6 million.
The company is working to move ZYNLONTA into earlier treatment settings. Its Phase 3 LOTIS-5 study met its primary progression-free survival endpoint, although FDA feedback raised concerns about the trial’s benefit-risk profile. Enrollment is complete in LOTIS-7, which pairs ZYNLONTA with Roche’s glofitamab. ADC Therapeutics is considering a Phase 3 study of the combination and plans to seek Breakthrough Therapy designation.
Cellectar Carries Radiation Inside Cancer Cells in a Rare Blood Cancer
Cellectar Biosciences (NASDAQ: CLRB) is developing iopofosine I 131 for Waldenström macroglobulinemia, a rare blood cancer. The candidate uses the company’s phospholipid drug conjugate platform to carry radioactive iodine into cancer cells, pairing targeted delivery with radiotherapy.
In 24 evaluable patients with relapsed or refractory disease treated immediately after BTK inhibitor treatment, Cellectar reported an 87.5% overall response rate, a 79.2% major response rate and a median duration of response of 16 months. The company has begun site activation for a confirmatory Phase 3 trial and plans to submit a New Drug Application in mid-2027 under the FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program.
FDA Clears Fate’s Ready-Made CAR-T for Clinical Testing
CAR-T treatment has changed the outlook for some blood cancers, but manufacturing a personalized cell treatment for every patient remains complicated. Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FATE) is developing engineered CAR-T cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells that can be manufactured in advance and stored until needed.
Fate’s clinical focus has largely shifted toward autoimmune disease, but its next-generation FT839 program also targets hematologic malignancies. FT839 targets both CD19 and CD38 and carries 13 genetic edits intended to broaden targeting, improve persistence and help the cells evade rejection. The FDA cleared the IND in July, and Fate plans investigator-led studies that include multiple myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
If off-the-shelf approaches can match personalized CAR-T while simplifying manufacturing and delivery, the impact would reach well beyond any single blood cancer.
The Common Thread Is What Keeps a Cancer Alive
Nurix degrades a protein. Syndax targets a genetic dependency. ADC Therapeutics delivers a cytotoxic payload through an antibody. Cellectar carries radiation into malignant cells. Fate engineers cells in advance.
Where a blood cancer originates, or how it looks under a microscope, now matters less than what it depends on to survive, resist treatment and return. For each of these programs, the test is the one Nurix’s Phase 3 puts most plainly: does going after the mechanism beat the current standard of care?
