Phase 2 elranatamab BCMA×CD3 bispecific with IL-6R blockade to prevent CRS

SCRI Development Innovations (part of Sarah Cannon Research Institute/SCRI Oncology Partners) is running this Phase 2, open-label, nonrandomized, single-arm CORE-MM study to test whether outpatient elranatamab step-up dosing can be made safer by giving one prophylactic dose of tocilizumab beforehand. Elranatamab (Pfizer) is a BCMA×CD3 T-cell–engaging bispecific antibody that redirects T cells to kill BCMA-expressing plasma cells; tocilizumab (Genentech/Roche) blocks the IL-6 receptor and is commonly used to treat (and here, pre-empt) cytokine release syndrome (CRS). The primary endpoint is the incidence of CRS during Cycle 1, with a 6-patient safety lead-in followed by ~40-patient expansion, all receiving subcutaneous elranatamab on 28-day cycles. Eligible patients have relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma after ≥1 prior line and must have been exposed to lenalidomide and an anti-CD38 antibody—an increasingly common “double-exposed” setting where many patients cycle through proteasome inhibitors, IMiDs, anti-CD38 antibodies, and later CAR-T or other T-cell engagers. The key angle is operational/commercial: proving a practical outpatient prophylaxis workflow that could broaden community adoption of bispecifics by reducing early-cycle resource intensity and monitoring burden.