Scots gran given new lease of life after 'miracle' drug trial

A grandmother-of-four who was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer says a groundbreaking new drug has given her “a new lease of life”.

Anne Head, from Pitlochry, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2019 after routine blood tests during a check-up at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

The disease affects plasma cells in the bone marrow. While treatments can control their symptoms, most patients eventually relapse and require further therapy.

Anne underwent a stem cell transplant and tried all available treatments, but none proved effective.

She was then told about a clinical trial for the promising new drug talquetamab.

“All I could think of was my four grandchildren, that’s all I thought about, but in the same breath from telling me that news, they told me there was a chance that I might get onto a drug trial”, she told STV News.

The treatment, which was trialled at Ninewells Hospital, works by helping the body’s immune system identify and destroy myeloma cells.

Anne began receiving the treatment as part of the trial and has seen remarkable results, as nearly two years on, her cancer is still undetectable.

The treatment was trialled at Ninewells Hospital STV News

The drug’s effectiveness became even more apparent when Anne was forced to stop treatment for 16 weeks after developing an infection in an artificial knee joint.

“You have the injection once a month, a tiny wee injection in your tummy, and it’s backed up with one of these every night for three weeks, and you get one complete week off.

“And the other miracle thing about it is last year, last summer, I got an infection in an artificial knee joint, and I had to come off the trial drug for 16 weeks, and the cancer never came back.

“It’s undetectable. They can’t call it a cure, but it’s so manageable that it’s undetectable. The numbers are so low they just can’t be registered.

“I’ve got so much more energy, and instead of looking from day to day, I’m now looking from year to year.”

Talquetamab has now been approved for use on NHS Scotland following acceptance by the Scottish Medicines Consortium.

The treatment will be available for adults with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.

The decision offers fresh hope to patients facing limited treatment options.

Gabrielle King, senior policy officer at Myeloma UK, said: “This is fantastic news and we know it will make a huge difference to people with myeloma in Scotland. Talquetamab targets myeloma in a completely different way to currently available treatments.

“Myeloma UK has driven every single treatment approval for myeloma since 1997, submitting evidence on behalf of our community and providing expert testimony in committee meetings, because each new pioneering treatment approved on the NHS gives people hope of a brighter future and brings us that much closer to a cure.”