The race to stymie BTK: Zanu zings

Abstract

This issue of Blood presents a tour de force: Trotman and colleagues1 report a phase 1/2 trial of zanubrutinib, a novel Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, and lay the groundwork for Tam et al.2 to present a head-to-head comparison of 2 BTK inhibitors, zanubrutinib and ibrutinib, in MYD88L256P mutantWaldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). These companion articles on zanubrutinibwill arguably have broad implications in WM therapeutics. The 2 trials showcase how extraordinary international collaborative efforts were instrumental in the development of zanubrutinib at warp speed for treatment of a rare B-cell malignancy.