Jacob Laubach, MD, at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provides a summary of the most recent update from the GRIFFIN trial, assessing daratumumab plus lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. After 24 months of maintenance therapy or treatment discontinuation (median follow-up of 38.6 months), the rate of stringent complete response (sCR) was 66% in the D-RVd treatment arm versus 47.4% in the RVd treatment arm. At the time of data collection, median PFS had not been reached in either arm but is trending towards favoring D-RVd versus RVd. The estimated 36-month PFS rate was 88.9% for D-RVd and 81.2% for RVd.

The GLOW study is a phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of ibrutinib plus venetoclax (I+V) in elderly or unfit CLL patients. Patients receiving I+V are compared to patients receiving chlorambucil plus obinutuzumab (C+O). Previously this study reported reduced risk of disease progression with I+V vs C+O. This update, presented at ASH 2021, looked at undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) – a surrogate for PFS. uMRD was significantly higher in both peripheral blood and bone marrow in the I+V group.

When will it end! That’s the thought on most people’s minds when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic that’s now in its third year. But getting to a conclusion and knowing exactly when the world is no longer in the midst of a pandemic might not be clear to medical professionals or the general population. A new article published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) argues that pandemic endings are not very obvious and tend to occur when social life resumes in a country rather than with the achievement of vaccination, containment, or other medical targets. The BMJ article also argues that the diligent and meticulous tracking of the coronavirus’ spread might actually make it harder to eventually know when the pandemic has, at long last, ended for good.

Some positive news. The 2022 contribution limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) have been increased. This year, the maximum HSA contribution limits have been set at $3,650 for an individual and $7,300 for family coverage. People who qualify to make HSA contributions can lower their current-year tax bill. The more money you contribute to an HSA, the bigger your tax break. But not everyone qualifies to contribute. Check out the latest rules and qualifiers.

Prescription drug prices rise each year in January and July. As we start off the new year, GoodRx Health is reporting that a total of 658 branded drugs have just had their prices increased an average of 4.9%, while 11 generic medications have seen their prices rise an average of 10.3%. That’s less than the 832 drugs that saw their price increase in January 2021. Among the biggest movers are Nucynta, paclitaxel, and Prilosec.

CheckRare provides a list of the orphaned drugs that dominate the US pharmaceutical industry to start 2022. Orphan drugs are defined as those medications that remain commercially undeveloped because they’ve been deemed to have limited potential for profitability. However, nearly half of all novel medications approved by the FDA are orphan drugs.