Panelists emphasize that effective use of menin inhibitors for KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) requires dispelling common misconceptions about oral targeted therapy, ensuring close monitoring for adverse effects, clarifying treatment goals—especially the role of transplant—and supporting patients through comprehensive education and multidisciplinary care.
Closing the Gaps: Therapeutic Performance and the Promise of Innovation
Panelists discuss how current multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies show limited effectiveness against progression, but emerging Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors offer promise by targeting both B cells and central nervous system (CNS)–penetrating microglia, with one showing a 31% reduction in confirmed disability progression in clinical trials.
Emerging Menin Inhibitors and Patient Impact
Panelists highlight that the emergence of menin inhibitors is reshaping the treatment paradigm for KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with ongoing research focused on optimizing their use, overcoming resistance, expanding access, and integrating these targeted therapies into personalized and potentially curative treatment strategies across diverse patient populations.
Digging Deeper: Mechanisms of Progression and the Case for a Dual Therapeutic Approach
Panelists discuss how chronic neuroinflammation involves distinct mechanisms from acute relapses—including microglial activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and iron deposition—necessitating dual therapeutic approaches that address relapsing and progressive disease components.
The Impact of Intrathecal Onasemnogene Abeparvovec Therapy in SMA
Panelists discuss how intrathecal delivery of onasemnogene abeparvovec in the STEER study demonstrates statistically significant motor function improvements in older patients with SMA (ages 2-18 years) with favorable safety profiles, potentially expanding gene therapy access beyond the current age restriction of under 2 years.
Gaps in Care for Childhood SMA
Panelists discuss how gaps in SMA care persist despite highly effective treatments, particularly regarding racial and ethnic disparities in research participation and global access challenges due to high costs and infrastructure limitations in developing countries.
Measuring What Matters: Evidence and End Points That Define Disability in MS
Panelists discuss how robust clinical evidence from major studies like the EPIC and OPERA trials demonstrates that progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) is the primary driver of confirmed disability progression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), with clinical parameters over 3 to 6 months being the most meaningful measures of treatment impact.
Shifts in Standard of Care for Adults and Children With KMT2A AML
Panelists emphasize that the approval of menin inhibitors has transformed the treatment landscape for KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by replacing historically limited and toxic chemotherapy-based strategies with a targeted, guideline-endorsed option that aligns with disease biology—offering renewed hope for both adult and pediatric patients, especially in the relapsed/refractory setting.
Efficacy, Safety, and Experience With Revumenib
Panelists report that the AUGMENT-101 trial demonstrated meaningful clinical benefits of menin inhibitors in relapsed/refractory KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML)—with a 23% complete remission rate and manageable safety profile including differentiation syndrome—highlighting the importance of early recognition, patient education, and supportive care to optimize outcomes as these agents move toward becoming a new standard of care.
Understanding PIRA and Its Clinical Significance in MS
Panelists discuss how progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) represents a distinct pathological process involving smoldering inflammation and neurodegeneration that drives disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly manifesting around midlife despite being present from disease onset.
The Future of BTK Inhibitor Therapies in CLL and MCL
Panelists discuss the future of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapies, considering emerging treatments, regulatory changes, evolving cost dynamics, and the current unmet needs in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) care, and how these factors may shape the landscape of treatment options.
Strategies for Managing Costs of Long-Term BTK Inhibitor Therapy
Panelists discuss strategies and resources health care providers can offer to help alleviate the financial burden of long-term Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapy for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), focusing on support programs, cost-sharing solutions, and patient assistance initiatives.
Payer Policies and Access Strategies
Panelists discuss how payer policies and clinical pathways currently influence clinical decision-making for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) treatments and explore strategies that managed care organizations can implement to control costs while ensuring patients have access to the most appropriate BTK inhibitor therapy.
Overview of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Panelists discuss how spinal muscular atrophy is an autosomal recessive genetic disease affecting motor neurons with 3 currently approved disease-modifying therapies that restore SMN protein expression, including 2 requiring ongoing treatment and 1 gene transfer therapy (onasemnogene abeparvovec) approved only for patients under 2 years of age.
Key Takeaways From DMD Treatment Data
Panelists discuss how the pooled 3-year data for delandistrogene moxeparvovec show sustained motor function stabilization and less deterioration compared with natural history, providing confidence in the therapy’s long-term benefits while acknowledging the need for survival data and addressing concerns about potential transgene dilution over time.
Targeting Menin: A New Frontier in AML
Panelists highlight that menin inhibitors represent a breakthrough in the treatment of KMT2A-rearranged AML by targeting the disease’s core epigenetic drivers, with early clinical trials like AUGMENT-101 showing promising results in heavily pretreated, high-risk patients and supporting the potential for a new therapeutic standard in this aggressive leukemia subtype.
Patient Profiles: Demographics and Disease Biology
Panelists explain that KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a biologically aggressive and diagnostically complex leukemia subtype—especially prevalent in pediatric and therapy-related cases—with variable prognostic implications depending on fusion partners, underscoring the need for early molecular identification, personalized treatment strategies, and expanded access to targeted therapies and advanced diagnostics.
Inflation Reduction Act: Clinical Challenges
Panelists discuss the specific challenges and barriers clinicians might encounter when utilizing different BTK inhibitors under the regulations of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including issues related to cost, access, and treatment guidelines.
Inflation Reduction Act: Impact on Clinical Pathways for BTK Inhibitors
Panelists discuss potential changes to clinical pathways for Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapies as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), focusing on how shifting costs and access regulations may impact treatment decisions and patient care strategies.
Data on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Treatment From MDA 2025
Panelists discuss how data from MDA 2025 demonstrate that delandistrogene moxeparvovec (gene therapy for DMD) shows statistically significant improvements in motor function outcomes including North Star Ambulatory Assessment, time to rise from floor, and 10-m walk/run compared with external control groups over 2 years of treatment.
Advancements & Challenges in Muscular Dystrophy Treatment
Panelists discuss how recent advancements in muscular dystrophy treatment have evolved toward truly disease-modifying therapies using gene replacement, antisense oligonucleotides, and gene transfer technologies, while highlighting the ongoing challenges of identifying at-risk populations and collecting comprehensive safety and efficacy data.
Prognosis and Perception of KMT2A AML
Panelists emphasize that patients with KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often face steep educational challenges at diagnosis, requiring clear communication about the subtype’s adverse-risk classification, biological complexity, and treatment implications—highlighting the need for accessible education, academic-community collaboration, and early referral to specialized care for optimal outcomes.
KMT2A AML Pathogenesis and Presentation
Panelists explain that KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive, molecularly distinct leukemia subtype marked by menin-dependent transcriptional dysregulation, poor response to standard therapy, diagnostic challenges, and high relapse risk—underscoring the urgency of RNA-based diagnostics, early transplant consideration, and emerging menin-targeted treatments to improve outcomes.
Working With Policy Makers to Effectively Implement Biosimilars
Panelists discuss how policy makers can increase biosimilar adoption through financial incentives, streamlined interchangeability rules, and addressing patent litigation delays, emphasizing that biosimilar savings will ultimately help fund the next wave of health care innovation such as cell and gene therapies.
Key Pearls for Collaborating With Manufacturers for Successful Uptake of Biosimilars
Panelists discuss how biosimilar manufacturers can increase uptake by ensuring positive financial outcomes for all stakeholders, maintaining strong patient assistance programs, and working closely with health care providers who significantly influence biosimilar implementation.
Inflation Reduction Act: Impact on Health Care Systems’ Utilization of BTK Inhibitors
Panelists discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) might influence health care systems’ selection and utilization of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, particularly through changes in pricing, reimbursement policies, and treatment access.
Inflation Reduction Act: Impact on Affordability of BTK Inhibitors
Panelists discuss how lower out-of-pocket costs resulting from ibrutinib’s inclusion in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) might improve the affordability and utilization of BTK inhibitor treatments in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), potentially expanding access for patients.
Looking Ahead: The Next Frontier in ALK+ NSCLC Therapy
Panelists discuss how promising ongoing and upcoming clinical trials may reshape sequencing strategies in ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Education and Support After Progression ALK Inhibitors
Panelists discuss how to approach patient education after progression on an ALK inhibitor, address real-world challenges during therapy transitions, and determine best options for patients progressing on lorlatinib.
Optimizing the Implementation of Biosimilars Into Formularies
Panelists discuss how health systems can learn from published case examples when implementing biosimilars, noting that biosimilars can create a “win-win” situation where patients see lower costs, payers see lower charges, and providers may experience better margins.