Moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk — Drug Monograph
Brand names: Lumoxiti
Drug class: Other
Mechanism of Action
Moxetumomab pasudotox is a CD22-directed recombinant immunotoxin. It consists of the disulfide-stabilized variable fragment (dsFv) of a high-affinity murine anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody genetically fused to PE38, a 38-kDa truncated fragment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A. CD22 is a B-lineage-restricted sialoglycoprotein expressed at high density on hairy cells and most B-cell malignancies. After the antibody moiety binds CD22, the complex is rapidly internalized and trafficked to the endosome, where the PE38 fragment is processed and translocates to the cytosol. There, PE38 catalyzes…
FDA Indications
- Relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia (HCL) in adults who have received at least two prior systemic therapies, including treatment with a purine nucleoside analog (Lumoxiti; FDA approved September 2018 based on the pivotal Study 1053). NOTE: AstraZeneca voluntarily withdrew Lumoxiti from the US market in July 2023 for commercial reasons unrelated to safety or efficacy — the drug is no longer commercially available in the United States.
Common Side Effects
- Peripheral edema and fluid overload (~39%)
- Nausea (~35%)
- Fatigue (~36%)
- Headache (~33%)
- Pyrexia / fever (~31%)
- Constipation (~22%)
- Anemia (~26%)
- Diarrhea (~19%)
- Infusion-related reactions (~20%)
- Increased serum creatinine / decreased renal function
- Electrolyte abnormalities — hypophosphatemia, hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, hyponatremia, hypomagnesemia, hyperuricemia
- Elevated transaminases (ALT/AST)
- Myalgia / arthralgia
- Cough
Clinical Pearl
Moxetumomab pasudotox (Lumoxiti) is a CD22-directed recombinant immunotoxin — an anti-CD22 antibody fragment fused to a truncated Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE38) that ADP-ribosylates eEF2 and halts protein synthesis. It was FDA-approved in 2018 for relapsed/refractory HCL after ≥2 prior lines (including a purine analog) and produces durable complete remissions, some MRD-negative, in a meaningful subset — with efficacy independent of BRAF status. The two defining, potentially fatal toxicities are…
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