BCMA Targeted Therapies
6 drugsAbout BCMA
BCMA (B-Cell Maturation Antigen), encoded by TNFRSF17, is crucial for B cell survival and maturation. It regulates B cell development and homeostasis, making it a key target in oncology. BCMA is a receptor expressed on mature B cells.
BCMA is a significant oncology target, evidenced by 4 FDA-approved drugs. Genetic evidence offers moderate support, with associations to gastric carcinoma (score 0.52) and osteomyelitis (score 0.51). Strong eQTL/pQTL signals (max H4: 1.00) further support therapeutic targeting.
Four BCMA-targeting drugs are approved: BLENREP, ELREXFIO, LYNOZYFIC, and TECVAYLI. These include bispecific antibodies (2 drugs), an ADC, and another biologic. GSK, Pfizer, Regeneron, and Johnson & Johnson are key players in this space.
BCMA Genetic Evidence Moderate
Genetic evidence shows moderate support for BCMA, with a max score of 0.52.
Further research into the genetic links could strengthen the therapeutic rationale.
Evidence Across Diseases
4 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link TNFRSF17 to 4 diseases.
🔗 Colocalization Evidence 20 strong
max H4: 1.00eQTL/pQTL signals for TNFRSF17 colocalize with these GWAS traits, providing causal evidence that gene expression changes drive disease risk.
Understanding these scores
Association Score (0-1): Combines all evidence types (genetic, literature, drugs, animal models). Higher = more evidence linking target to disease. This is a ranking heuristic, not a confidence score.
L2G Score: Open Targets uses a machine learning model (Locus-to-Gene) to predict which gene is causal at each GWAS locus. L2G=0.5 means ~50% probability of being the causal gene. Only associations with L2G > 0.05 are included.
Odds Ratio (OR): From gene burden studies (UK Biobank, AstraZeneca PheWAS). Measures how loss-of-function variants affect disease risk. OR<1 = protective (inhibiting target may help), OR>1 = risk (losing function causes disease).
Beta (β): Effect size for continuous traits. β<0 = protective, β>0 = risk.
Clinical Translation (~1.8x): Based on Nelson et al. 2015: drug targets with genetic evidence have ~2x higher success rates in clinical trials. We estimate: Strong support (score ≥0.7) → ~1.8x, Moderate (0.3-0.7) → ~1.3x, Weak → baseline.
Colocalization (H4): Tests whether a GWAS signal and an eQTL/pQTL signal share the same causal variant. H4 is the posterior probability that both traits are associated AND share a causal variant. H4 > 0.8 = strong evidence that gene expression/protein levels drive disease risk. This links genetic variation → gene expression → disease, supporting the target-disease connection.
Top BCMA Drugs
Four companies have approved BCMA-targeting drugs, indicating a competitive landscape.
The presence of multiple players suggests moderate barriers to entry in this market.
| Drug | Company | Approved | Indications |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELREXFIO | Pfizer | 2023 | 1 |
| Abecma | Bristol-Myers Squibb | 2021 | - |
| Carvykti | Johnson & Johnson | 2022 | - |
BCMA Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
BCMA requires biologic approaches (bispecific antibody), likely due to its structure or location.
Diversifying modalities beyond bispecific antibodies could provide a competitive advantage.
📈 Modality Evolution
Gene therapies pioneered BCMA targeting (2021), with adcs entering more recently (2025).
BCMA Clinical Trials 182 trials
Phase 1-4 trials started in 2008 or later that test an FDA-approved drug acting on BCMA. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. How we count
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Stopped | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 67 | 6 | 7 | 53 | 46% |
| Phase 2 | 77 | 5 | 6 | 66 | 45% |
| Phase 3 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 0% |
| Phase 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | - |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Phase 3 Readout Calendar Pro
2 Phase 3 trials testing approved BCMA drugs across all sponsors.
Coverage: trials whose intervention is an approved drug targeting BCMA. Pre-approval candidates with development codes (e.g. AZD0901, MK-7240) are not yet linked. Anchored on CT.gov primary completion date.
BCMA Drug Approval Timeline (2021 - 2025)
The first BCMA-targeting drug was approved in 2022, with the most recent in 2025.
The recent approvals suggest continued innovation and potential for market growth.
Pro Intelligence Preview
Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 5 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 6 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 6-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Sponsors: 74 (15 companies)
- • Completion rates by condition
Full summary • All drugs • Genetic evidence • Trials • Timeline
How We Count Trials
- Trials: phase 1-4 interventional trials on ClinicalTrials.gov that started in 2008 or later and test an FDA-approved drug acting on BCMA. A trial counts if an approved drug acting on BCMA is in any arm, including as a comparator, and a trial that tests two such drugs counts once. Trials that test only unapproved drugs are not counted. A trial listed as phase 1/2 counts as phase 1, and phase 2/3 as phase 2.
- Active: recruiting, not yet recruiting, enrolling by invitation, or active and no longer recruiting.
- Completion rate: of the trials that have ended, the share marked Completed rather than Terminated or Withdrawn. Completed means the trial ended as planned; it does not mean the drug worked. Suspended trials are not counted as ended.
- Stopped: terminated or withdrawn. Trials stop for many reasons, including slow enrolment and business decisions, not only safety or efficacy.
- Sponsors: the lead sponsor of each trial. Companies are the sponsors ClinicalTrials.gov classes as industry; the rest are universities, hospitals, cooperative groups, government bodies and individuals.