On August 21, 2026 Johnson & Johnson reported that the European Commission (EC) has approved an indication extension for TECVAYLI (teclistamab) in combination with daratumumab for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who have received at least one prior therapy. The approval introduces a new treatment option as early as second line for patients living with RRMM.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Complementary mechanisms of action underpin this immunotherapy doublet
Teclistamab and daratumumab work in a complementary manner, with daratumumab modulating the immune system to enhance T-cell fitness and activation, thereby amplifying teclistamab-mediated killing of myeloma cells.1,2
Expert and company perspectives on advancing the standard of care in RRMM
"Patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma often experience shorter remissions and diminishing responses with each subsequent line of therapy, making earlier access to the most effective treatments increasingly important," said María-Victoria Mateos, M.D., Director of the Myeloma Unit at the University Hospital of Salamanca, Spain. "Today’s approval of teclistamab in combination with daratumumab marks an important advance by providing physicians with an off-the-shelf, steroid-sparing, immunotherapy option that has demonstrated meaningful improvements in progression-free and overall survival, with the potential to redefine treatment expectations as early as second line."
"This new indication for teclistamab plus daratumumab brings forward a new standard of care for patients in Europe living with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma," said Ester in ‘t Groen, EMEA Therapeutic Area Head, Haematology, Johnson & Johnson. "By combining the complementary mechanisms of teclistamab, a BCMAxCD3 bispecific antibody, with daratumumab, a well-established standard of care that helps modulate the immune system, we can deliver meaningful long-term outcomes earlier in the treatment journey, where they have the greatest opportunity to influence the disease trajectory and redefine expectations for patients."
"Today’s approval reflects our ongoing commitment to addressing the diverse needs of patients with multiple myeloma, giving them more options at every stage of their disease," said Yusri Elsayed, M.D., M.H.Sc., Ph.D., Global Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology, Johnson & Johnson. "By continuing to invest in scientific innovation and practice-changing research, we aim to redefine what is possible for patients today, while moving closer to a future where long-term disease control, and ultimately cure, becomes an achievable goal."
Unprecedented Phase 3 study data demonstrate significant survival benefits versus standard of care, representing a potential new benchmark in RRMM
The EC approval is supported by data from the Phase 3 MajesTEC-3 study (NCT05083169), which evaluated the efficacy and safety of teclistamab plus daratumumab subcutaneous (SC) formulation versus investigator’s choice of daratumumab SC and dexamethasone with either pomalidomide or bortezomib (DPd/DVd) in patients with RRMM who have received 1–3 prior lines of therapy.3
Source: Costa L, et al. Teclistamab plus Daratumumab in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma. The New England Journal of Medicine 2025; Full article and supplementary material. Available at: View Source Last accessed: August 2026.
The study demonstrated clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).1 At nearly three years of follow-up, teclistamab plus daratumumab SC reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 83.4% compared to standard of care (hazard ratio [HR], 0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12-0.23; p<0.001).1 More than 90% of patients who remained progression-free at six months (n=249) remained progression-free at three years, highlighting the durability of response observed with this regimen.1 OS favoured teclistamab plus daratumumab SC (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.32-0.65; p<0.0001), with treatment benefit observed across all prespecified subgroups.1,2 At three years, OS rates were 83.3% for the combination compared with 65.0% for standard of care.1
Teclistamab combination demonstrated manageable safety profile
The safety profile of teclistamab plus daratumumab SC was consistent with the well-known profiles of the individual therapies and no new safety signals were identified.1,4,5 All cases of cytokine release syndrome were Grade 1/2 and did not lead to treatment discontinuation.1 Cytopenia and infection were the most commonly observed Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs).1 Treatment discontinuations due to TEAEs were low and occurred at similar rates between study arms (4.6% [teclistamab] vs. 5.5% [DPd/DVd]).1
About the MajesTEC-3 Study
MajesTEC-3 (NCT05083169) is an ongoing, Phase 3 randomised study evaluating the safety and efficacy of teclistamab plus daratumumab subcutaneous (SC) (n=291) versus investigator’s choice of daratumumab SC and dexamethasone with either pomalidomide or bortezomib (n=296) (DPd/DVd) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who have received 1–3 prior lines of therapy.1,3 The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS) and secondary endpoints include complete response or better (≥CR), overall response rate (ORR), minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity (10⁻⁵ by next-generation sequencing), overall survival (OS), time to worsening of symptoms (MySIm-Q), and safety.3 The MajesTEC-3 study is a part of the MajesTEC clinical programme, which includes exploring the potential of teclistamab as a combination regimen.3
About Teclistamab
Teclistamab received European Commission (EC) approval in August 2022 for the treatment of patients with RRMM who have received at least three prior therapies, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 antibody, and have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy.6 In August 2023, the EC approved a Type II variation application for teclistamab, providing the option for a reduced dosing frequency of 1.5mg/kg every two weeks in patients who have achieved a complete response (CR) or better for a minimum of six months.7
Teclistamab is an off-the-shelf (or ready-to-use) bispecific antibody.4,8 Teclistamab, a subcutaneous injection, redirects T-cells through two cellular targets (BCMA and CD3) to activate the body’s immune system to fight cancer.1,5 Teclistamab is currently being evaluated in several combination studies.4,9,10,11
To date, more than 30,700 patients have been treated worldwide with teclistamab.12
For a full list of adverse events and information on dosage and administration, contraindications and other precautions when using teclistamab, please refer to the Summary of Product Characteristics at: View Source
In line with EMA regulations for new medicines and those given conditional approval, teclistamab is subject to additional monitoring.4
About Daratumumab and Daratumumab SC
Johnson & Johnson is committed to exploring the potential of daratumumab for patients with multiple myeloma across the spectrum of the disease.
In August 2012, Janssen Biotech, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, and Genmab A/S entered a worldwide agreement, which granted Johnson & Johnson an exclusive licence to develop, manufacture and commercialise daratumumab. Since launch, daratumumab has become a foundational therapy in the treatment of multiple myeloma, having been used in the treatment of more than 830,000 patients worldwide.13 Daratumumab was the first CD38-directed antibody approved to be given subcutaneously to treat patients with multiple myeloma.5,14 Daratumumab SC was also the first oncology injectable approved for administration by patients living with multiple myeloma or their caregivers from the fifth dose, if determined to be appropriate by their healthcare professional and following proper training.5,15 Daratumumab SC is co-formulated with recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20), Halozyme’s ENHANZE drug delivery technology.5
CD38 is a surface protein that is present in high numbers on multiple myeloma cells, regardless of the stage of disease.5,16 Daratumumab binds to CD38 and inhibits tumour cell growth causing myeloma cell death.5 Daratumumab may also have an effect on normal cells.5 Data across ten Phase 3 clinical trials, in both the frontline and relapsed settings across all newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients, have shown that daratumumab-based regimens resulted in significant improvement in progression-free survival and/or overall survival.17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26
For further information on daratumumab, please see the Summary of Product Characteristics at: View Source
About Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is a complex blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called plasma cells, which are found in the bone marrow.27,28 In multiple myeloma, these malignant plasma cells continue to proliferate, accumulating in the body and crowding out normal blood cells, as well as often causing bone destruction and other serious complications.29,30 In the European Union, it is estimated that more than 35,000 people were diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2024, and more than 21,900 patients died.31 Patients living with multiple myeloma experience relapses which become more frequent with each line of therapy, while remissions become progressively shorter.32,33,34 Whilst some patients with multiple myeloma initially have no symptoms, others can have common signs and symptoms of the disease, which can include bone fracture or pain, low red blood cell counts, fatigue, high calcium levels, infections, or kidney damage.
(Press release, Johnson & Johnson, AUG 21, 2026, View Source [SID1234670280])