How Lunsumio VELO Uses the Immune System in Follicular Lymphoma

Dr. Ian Flinn, chief scientific officer at Tennessee Oncology and One Oncology in Nashville, Tennessee, explains Lunsumio VELO (mosunetuzumab), a bispecific antibody, and its role in treating follicular lymphoma. Flinn describes how the treatment engages a patient’s own immune system to target cancerous B cells, offering a novel form of immunotherapy that can be given in a shorter, more convenient outpatient format.

Lunsumio VELO was recently granted accelerated approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It works by connecting two types of cells in the body: B cells, which carry a marker called CD20, and T cells, which have a marker called CD3. By bringing these cells together, the treatment activates the patient’s T cells to recognize and destroy lymphoma cells. This approach allows the immune system to directly attack cancer while helping patients receive targeted therapy in a manageable, outpatient-friendly way. It also provides clinicians with a therapy that can be delivered efficiently while maintaining strong anti-cancer effects, potentially reducing the overall time patients spend in the clinic.

Transcript

Could you please explain what Lunsumio VELO is and how it works for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma?

[Lunsumio VELO] is a bispecific antibody that targets an antigen on the surface of the lymphoma cells called CD20, as well as white blood cell lymphocytes. So if we think about this a little bit, if I give you a flu shot, you will develop an antibody that protects you against influenza. In the laboratory, we can develop antibodies that target anything we want, including CD20, which is expressed on lymphoma cells. Those are traditionally called naked antibodies. They're unmodified. Here, a bispecific antibody targets not only the lymphoma cells, but it also targets white blood cells, in this case, lymphocytes that circulate in our blood, and it brings the lymphocyte to the lymphoma cell, where the lymphocyte can then kill the lymphoma cells. And so it's a novel form of immunotherapy, or using your own immune system to fight the cancer.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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