BING CENTER

The Bing Center for WM was also the first to report that Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) was a downstream target of MYD88 L265P mutation. This critical finding enabled a clinical trial to investigate the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib in previously treated WM patients, which showed an 91% overall response rate. Our combined scientific and clinical findings was the basis for the first-ever "breakthrough designation" for oncology fast-track drug approval, and the first-ever approval of a drug (ibrutinib) by the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency (NEJM). This study also showed that the mutation status of MYD88 and CXCR4 (discussed below) impacted treatment response. In collaboration with the medicinal chemistry laboratory of Dr. Nathanael Gray at Harvard Medical School, our center is developing novel kinase inhibitors that interfere with other nodal points in MYD88 L265P signaling, including the SRC family member HCK that is upregulated and activated by mutated MYD88. Our combined efforts..

Also known as: Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, Bing Center for WM