MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Two awards in the same therapeutic area, which photograph the two stages in which innovation is measured: the development of new therapies and the confirmation of their value over the years, in clinical practice. At Prix Galien Italy 2026 Johnson & Johnson won two awards in multiple myeloma. Ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), T-cell therapy with cymeric antigen receptor (CAR-T), won in the category Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) and genome modification drugs; daratumumab, anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, in the category Real World Evidence. The prizes were delivered on 3 November in Turin, at Palazzo Madama. The Prix Galien was born in France in 1970 and rewards every year the drugs and technologies that marked concrete progress in the care of people. This is why it is considered one of the most authoritative awards in pharmaceutical research. In the Italian edition, the winners are chosen by a Scientific Committee for Pharmacologes and Clinics of Italian Universities. Together, the two awards describe the value of innovation along the entire treatment path: from the availability of new therapeutic options to their validation in everyday clinical practice. “To us innovate means facing the still unsatisfied clinical needs and creating the conditions for innovation to truly reach patients, when they need it, in a timely manner and throughout the national territory. The value of therapeutic innovation is measured by the impact it has on patients and, in a long-term perspective, by the positive impact on the country’s health system. We are proud to have obtained this recognition, which enhances a commitment that in Italy passes from clinical research, dialogue with institutions and collaboration with care centers. We want to continue collaborating with all health actors so that patients can benefit more and more quickly from the available therapies,” said Jacopo Murzi, Managing Director Innovative Medicine, Johnson & Johnson Italia. Johnson & Johnson’s commitment is increasingly aimed at researching and developing innovative therapeutic solutions that meet patient care needs and pathologies for which treatment options are limited. Cilta-cel is an important innovation in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. It is a custom CAR-T therapy, directed against B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and administered with a single infusion. It is indicated in adult patients with relapsed multiple myeloma and refractory who received at least one previous therapy, including an immunomodulating agent and a proteasoma inhibitor, in which progression of the disease occurred during the last therapy and are lenalidomide refractories. Clinical studies have shown not only an improvement in disease control, but also a statistically significant reduction in death risk compared to standard comparison regimes. In the CARTITUDE-4 study, at a median follow-up of 33,6 months, a single infusion reduced the risk of progression or death by 71% and by 45% the risk of death[1]. These results have led AIFA to recognise its therapeutic innovation. Refunded in our country since this year, the drug can therefore significantly change the management of advanced myeloma: from a sequence of continuous treatments we switch to a single-administration cell approach, capable in a significant proportion of patients to lead to deep remissions, durations and leave the patient potentially free from treatment for prolonged periods. Daratumumab, a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD38 protein, is one of the main therapeutic innovations in multiple myeloma. In almost ten years of employment he helped redefine the stancare dard of the disease, from the relapsed setting to the first line. Refunded in Italy since 2017, daratumumab today presents six different indications in multiple myeloma, a path that has recently expanded with the introduction of refundable combination with bortezomib, lenalidomide and desametasone (D-VRd) for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. In support of the value of this combination, data modelling analyses estimate a median progression-free survival of approximately 17,1 years in patients eligible for transplantation and about 8,3 years in patients not eligible for transplantation. The Real World Evidence Award recognizes what happened after approval. The wide spread of treatment in clinical practice has generated over the years a significant heritage of real world evidence, collected in different welfare contexts. This data has confirmed, in real clinical practice and in populations of wider and heterogeneous patients compared to those included in the recording trials, the effectiveness and tolerance of daratumumab while at the same time showing a positive impact also on the organizational plan and on the management of treatment paths. It is this continuity between experimentation and daily practice to have supported the consolidation of daratumumab as a fundamental component of the current therapeutic algorithms of myeloma. A concrete example of how Real World Evidence can integrate experimental evidence and generate benefits for patients, health professionals and healthcare systems. “ For many years, onco-ematology is at the centre of our research, with an ambitious goal: to make diseases once considered incurable conditions increasingly manageable. Multiple myeloma is the most obvious example of this path: it is an area where we have worked to provide different therapeutic approaches so as to adapt the path to the needs of each patient, allowing not only to improve clinical outcomes and reduce unwanted effects, but also to improve the quality of life, promoting a more precise and patient-centered medicine. It is this awareness that has led us to develop four therapies in myeloma with different mechanisms of action, designed for profiles of different patients, available in increasingly precocious lines. In this sense, our global ambition is to become a leader in onco-ematology by 2030, continuing to lead innovation through research and the ability to respond to patient needs. These awards lead us to continue with the same rigour, because every scientific progress translates into more time and more quality of life for people”, added Alessandra Baldini, Medical Director, Innovative Medicine, Johnson & Johnson Italy.
– Press Office photos Johnson & Johnson Italy –
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