Dr. Horwitz on the Clinical Benefit of Omidubicel Transplant in Hematologic Malignancies

Mitchell E. Horwitz, MD, professor of medicine and member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Health, discusses the use of omidubicel versus standard myeloablative umbilical cord blood transplant in patients with hematologic malignancies.

Findings from a phase 3 study, which were presented at 2021 Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Meetings, demonstrated that the primary end point of time to neutrophil recovery was met, says Horwitz. In the intention-to-treat population, the median time to neutrophil recovery was 12 days with omidubicel versus 22 days with standard cord blood transplant (P < .001). Notably, 12 days is faster than any other stem cell graft source that has been evaluated from an adult donor, adds Horwitz.

Additionally, all secondary end points favored the use of omidubicel versus standard myeloablative umbilical cord blood transplant. Specifically, the time to platelet recovery (55% vs 35%, respectively; P = .028), the frequency of severe bacterial infection (37% vs 57%, respectively; P = .027), and time spent out of the hospital (median 61 days vs 48 days; P = .005) favored omidubicel. In an exploratory analysis, the frequency of viral infections also favored the use of omidubicel, concludes Horwitz.