Key Takeaways
Multiple myeloma is rare but becoming more common as the population ages.
It can be managed for years but is not yet curable.
A new drug called teclistamab is often effective after other drugs stopped working.
FDA approval of teclistamab could help many multiple myeloma patients.
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MSK’s Dr. Usmani, an Expert in Using Teclistamab for Multiple Myeloma
Dr. Usmani led the way in shepherding teclistamab through the clinical testing from its earliest stage, when he worked at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I have been involved with the development and testing of teclistamab since the very beginning — in fact, the first several patients ever dosed were my patients,” Dr. Usmani says.
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Teclistamab Patient Success: Robert Is Traveling Again
Robert Grimshaw was one of the early patients to receive the drug. He was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma at age 65 in 2012, when he was living in Cincinnati and working as an educational administrator. After several years of treatment with different drugs and a stem cell transplant, the disease kept returning. He and his wife moved to the Charlotte area to be near their daughter — and partly because he had read about Dr. Usmani’s expertise with the disease.
Dr. Usmani enrolled him in two different clinical trials, but the first treatment proved too toxic, and the second stopped working after a year. In 2020, he suggested Robert enroll in the phase 1 teclistamab trial. Robert didn’t hesitate.
“I was just looking for whatever would work, and I felt whatever I would go through might help somebody else,” he says. He began receiving infusions of teclistamab first weekly, then biweekly, then once every four weeks. The dosage was increased gradually because the trial was testing safety. The drug started working right away and proved effective even when Robert had to stop treatment for several months in 2021 due to severe illness from COVID-19.
I believe that we have enough myeloma therapies today to find the right recipe that will lead to curing the disease for certain patient subgroups.
Saad Z. Usmani
Chief, Myeloma Service
Two years after joining the trial, Robert, now 75, is doing very well. He continues to receive treatment in Charlotte and lives in nearby Belmont. He plays golf with friends every Tuesday, does yardwork, is active with his church, sees his daughter and granddaughter, and travels the globe with his wife, Cherry. They recently returned from a monthlong trip to Europe.
“I’ve had 41 treatments now, with very few side effects — definitely less than I felt on the earlier treatments,” Robert says. “This therapy becoming available has been very fortunate for me.”
Dr. Usmani and MSK colleagues are hoping to expand the group of people who will benefit from teclistamab. Newer trials at MSK and elsewhere are testing the drug earlier in the disease process, usually combined with other therapies.
“I believe that we have enough myeloma therapies today to find the right recipe that will lead to curing the disease for certain patient subgroups,” Dr. Usmani says. “At MSK, we are aiming to incorporate this promising therapy in earlier lines of treatment and figure out which subsets of patients, like Mr. Grimshaw, benefit the most.”

Angie et al, I have been on teclistamab since February, 2025. In September my doctors decided that I am now in remission. The change in my blood tests was evident by March but my Oncologist wanted 6 months of data before using the word remission. She also reduced the frequency of injections to once every two weeks instead of weekly. I am impressed with this drug!

Promising New Multiple Myeloma Treatment Targets: BCMA and CD3 Proteins
Teclistamab is a type of drug called a bispecific antibody. It targets a protein on myeloma cells called BCMA, as well as a protein on the immune system’s T cells called CD3. Teclistamab forces the T cells to recognize the multiple myeloma cells and attack them.
BCMA has emerged as a promising target for multiple myeloma drugs. CAR T cell therapies, which genetically engineer a patient’s own immune cells, have already had success homing in on the protein. But there is an important advantage with teclistamab.
Man and woman in Barcelona.
Robert Grimshaw with his wife, Cherry, in Barcelona earlier this year. He says side effects from teclistamab have been minimal.
“With CAR T therapies, we must remove the patient’s own T cells, engineer them to recognize the antigen, and then infuse them back into the body, which can take six or seven weeks,” Dr. Usmani says. “Teclistamab is an off-the-shelf therapy that we can give to patients right away. Even if teclistamab isn’t completely effective, there are situations where we could give it as a bridge therapy while patients are awaiting CAR T therapy.”
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MSK’s Dr. Usmani, an Expert in Using Teclistamab for Multiple Myeloma
Dr. Usmani led the way in shepherding teclistamab through the clinical testing from its earliest stage, when he worked at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I have been involved with the development and testing of teclistamab since the very beginning — in fact, the first several patients ever dosed were my patients,” Dr. Usmani says.

Dave, I had much the same response after teclistamab. I had many treatment failures before starting the medication. My oncologist has reduced my treatments to twice a Month instead of once a week and it appears to be going well. Best wishes and prayers!