FDA Greenlights Johnson & Johnson's Breakthrough Blood Cancer Treatment

The U.S. FDA has granted approval to Johnson & Johnson's antibody-based therapy, Talvey, for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma, a difficult-to-treat type of blood cancer. Talvey is a bispecific antibody that brings together cancer cells and immune cells to enhance the body's immune response against cancer. The therapy will be priced at $45,000 per month, with an estimated treatment cost ranging from $270,000 to $360,000. Talvey is the first of its kind to target the protein GPRC5D, which is predominantly found in cancerous plasma cells. The approval comes with a boxed safety warning regarding potential immune response and neurologic toxicity.