What is ABECMA? ABECMA (idecabtagene vicleucel) is a prescription medicine for the treatment of multiple myeloma in patients who have received at least three kinds of treatment regimens that have not worked or have stopped working. ABECMA is a medicine made from your own white blood cells; the cells are genetically modified to recognize and attack your multiple myeloma cells.

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Your caregiver can make a difference

Caregivers play an essential role during your ABECMA® treatment journey. They can lend a helping hand and support you before and after your ABECMA infusion. Plan with family and friends so that caregiver duties can be shared by more than one person.

Before your ABECMA infusion, caregivers can help:

  • Take notes and ask questions at the doctor’s office
  • Schedule appointments
  • Organize and share medical and insurance information with the healthcare team
  • Help with day-to-day tasks, such as driving, meals, laundry, and cleaning

After your ABECMA infusion, caregivers can help:

  • Look for symptoms, side effects, and other changes in health and/or behaviors
  • Check and record your temperature at least 3 times a day
  • Ask the healthcare team questions
  • Call 911 or your healthcare team in an emergency

Caregivers help give their loved ones medical, practical, and emotional support.
This can be a lot of responsibility. It's okay to share these duties with more than one person so that caregivers can also take care of themselves.

Watch to meet the rest of
your ABECMA care team

This video provides a description of the team
that patients may encounter during their
ABECMA treatment journey.

Start video: Meet Your ABECMA® Care Team that teaches patients about the care team they may encounter during their ABECMA® (idecabtagene vicleucel) treatment journey

Become familiar with the ABECMA treatment process and learn
how your caregiver and healthcare team will be there to help.

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CAR=chimeric antigen receptor.

Important Facts About ABECMA®

(idecabtagene vicleucel)

This is a summary of important information that you need to know about ABECMA. Your healthcare team can work with you to help answer any questions you may have about this medication. Keep this document in a safe place, so you can refer to it before and during your treatment.

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What is ABECMA?

ABECMA is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM), when:

you have tried two or more kinds of treatments that have not worked or have stopped working, AND

you have received at least one therapy from each of these drug classes:

  • an immunomodulatory agent
  • a proteasome inhibitor
  • an anti CD38-antibody

WARNING: RISK OF SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS

ABECMA may cause side effects that are life-threatening and can lead to death, including risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), neurologic toxicity, infections, low blood cell counts (cytopenia), and certain types of blood cancers.

Call your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you experience any of the following symptoms:

  • trouble breathing
  • fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher)
  • chills or shivering
  •  
  • confusion
  • feeling dizzy or lightheaded
  • shaking or twitching (tremor)
  • fast or irregular heartbeat
  • feeling severely tired or weak
  • severe nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

Because of the risk of serious side effects, your healthcare provider will give you an ABECMA Patient Wallet Card that describes symptoms to look out for that require emergency medical care right away. It’s important that you tell your healthcare providers that you have received ABECMA and to show them your ABECMA Patient Wallet Card. Your healthcare provider may give you other medicines to treat your side effects.

How will I receive ABECMA?

ABECMA is a CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy. It is a prescription medicine made using your own white blood cells. These white blood cells have been changed (genetically modified) to find and attack your multiple myeloma cells. ABECMA is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion.

Before receiving your ABECMA infusion:

Your blood cells will be collected by a process called leukapheresis (LOO-kuh-feh-REE-sis), sometimes called apheresis.

Your blood cells will be sent to a manufacturing site to make your ABECMA. Based on clinical trial experience, your ABECMA will be ready to be shipped back to your healthcare provider about 4 weeks after your cells are received at the manufacturing site, but the time may vary.

Your healthcare provider will give you 3 days of chemotherapy to prepare your body before receiving your ABECMA treatment.

On the day of your ABECMA infusion:

You will receive ABECMA through a tube (catheter) placed into your vein (intravenous infusion). Your dose of ABECMA may be given in one or more infusion bags. Each infusion bag usually takes up to 30 min.

After receiving your ABECMA infusion:

For at least 1 week (7 days) after receiving ABECMA, you will stay at the facility where you received your treatment and be monitored daily.

For 4 weeks after receiving ABECMA, you should plan to stay close (within 2 hours) to the facility where you received your treatment. During this time, your healthcare provider will check to see that your treatment is working and help you with any side effects that may occur.

What should I avoid after receiving ABECMA?

Do not drive, operate heavy machinery, or do any other activity that could be dangerous if you are not mentally alert, for at least 8 weeks after you get ABECMA. This is because ABECMA may affect your ability to be mentally alert in the following ways:

  • temporary memory and coordination problems
  • sleepiness
  • dizziness
  • confusion
  • seizures

Do not donate blood, organs, tissues, or cells for transplantation.

What are the possible or reasonably likely side effects of ABECMA?

Serious side effects

ABECMA can increase the risk of serious side effects. A serious side effect is a side effect that is severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. The serious side effects of ABECMA include, but are not limited to:

Early deaths. In a clinical study comparing ABECMA to standard treatments, a higher proportion of people died in the first 9 months from when they were assigned to receive ABECMA compared to people assigned to receive standard treatments. The higher rate of early death was seen before people received ABECMA, and the main reason was that their multiple myeloma had gotten worse. There was also an increase in the rate of death from side effects after receiving ABECMA.

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS). ABECMA can increase the risk of CRS, a very common side effect which can be severe or fatal. CRS happens when the immune system responds to an infection or a drug more aggressively than it should. Symptoms to look out for include:

  • fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher)
  • trouble breathing
  • dizziness or lightheadedness
  • nausea
  • headache
  • fast heartbeat
  • low blood pressure
  • feeling tired or weak

Infections. ABECMA can increase the risk of life-threatening infections that may lead to death. Symptoms to look out for include:

  • fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher)
  • chills
  • any other signs or symptoms of an infection

Low blood cell counts (cytopenia). ABECMA can lower the amount of one or more types of your blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets), which may make you feel weak or tired, and could increase your risk of severe infection or bleeding. After treatment, your healthcare provider will test your blood to check for this. Symptoms to look out for include:

  • fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher)
  • feeling weak or tired
  • bruising
  • bleeding

Other (secondary) blood cancers. ABECMA may increase your risk of getting certain types of cancers, including certain types of blood cancers. You may hear your healthcare provider call these "secondary hematological malignancies."

Your healthcare provider should monitor you for any signs of secondary cancers.

ABECMA may cause a false-positive HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) test result by some commercial tests.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms after receiving ABECMA. Remember to bring and show your ABECMA Patient Wallet Card to any healthcare provider who treats you.

Most common side effects

The most common side effects of ABECMA include:

  • feeling tired or weak
  • fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher)
  • chills or shivering
  • severe nausea or diarrhea
  • decreased appetite
  • headache
  • dizziness or lightheadedness
  • confusion
  • trouble speaking or slurred speech
  • cough
  • trouble breathing
  • fast or irregular heartbeat

These are not all of the possible side effects of ABECMA.

Talk to your healthcare team for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report side effects to Bristol Myers Squibb at ABECMA.com or by calling 1-888-805-4555, or to the FDA by calling 1-800-FDA-1088.

For more information, please see the U.S. Full Prescribing Information, including Boxed WARNINGS, and Medication Guide for ABECMA. Talk to your healthcare provider for more information about this medication.