Blinatumomab: Bridging the Gap in Adult Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who relapse after frontline therapy have extremely poor outcomes despite advances in chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Blinatumomab is a first-in-class bispecific T-cell engager that links T cells to tumor cells leading to T-cell activation and tumor cell lysis. In December 2014, the Food and Drug Administration approved blinatumomab for treatment of relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.