A diagnosis of multiple myeloma can present complex challenges for patients, families, and caregivers. To support informed decision-making and build confidence throughout the treatment journey, below is a selection of respected resources that offer reliable information, practical tools, and access to support networks. These materials are intended to help patients better understand their condition and navigate each stage of care with greater clarity.
A myeloma diagnosis means that one type of cell in your bone marrow — your plasma cells, which normally make antibodies to fight infection — has started growing abnormally. That can affect your bones, your kidneys, your blood counts, and how well you fight infections. Myeloma is serious, but it's not what it used to be: treatments have improved enormously over the past twenty years, and many people live well with it for a long time. Your haematologist will be your guide through what comes next, and they're the person who can answer the questions specific to you — your test results, your treatment options, your prognosis. There is also a strong community around myeloma in Australia, including Myeloma Australia and the Leukaemia Foundation, who specialise in supporting patients and families through exactly this moment.
If you've been told your myeloma is "kappa-restricted" or "lambda-restricted", it's a description of which kind of antibody your myeloma cells are producing. Healthy plasma cells make two kinds of small protein pieces called light chains — kappa and lambda — as part of building a complete antibody. In myeloma, your cells make only one kind, and your blood and urine tests will show which one. About seven in ten people with myeloma have the kappa kind; about three in ten have the lambda kind. It doesn't change how serious your myeloma is, but it can matter for treatment options — including whether you might be eligible for certain clinical trials. HaemaLogiX's current clinical trials are for people with kappa-restricted myeloma.
If your myeloma comes back after a period of being controlled by treatment, that's called "relapsed". If your current treatment isn't working — or never worked from the start — that's called "refractory". Most people with multiple myeloma will experience both at some point: treatments work for a while, then stop working, and a new treatment is started. Each new combination you try is called a "line of therapy". This pattern is one of the reasons new treatments are so important — and it's also why most clinical trials, including both of HaemaLogiX's current trials, focus on people whose myeloma has already relapsed or become refractory to earlier treatments.
KappaMab™ is an investigational therapy. It has not yet been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or any other regulatory authority for general use. It is currently available only to patients who are enrolled in a HaemaLogiX clinical trial and meet the trial's eligibility criteria. HaemaLogiX does not currently offer compassionate access or expanded access programs. Approved treatments for multiple myeloma are available through your treating haematologist.
KMCAR™ T-cell therapy is an investigational treatment in early-phase clinical development. It is only available to patients enrolled in the KOALA Phase 1 clinical trial at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, who meet the trial's eligibility criteria. There are other approved CAR-T therapies for multiple myeloma in Australia — your treating haematologist can discuss what is available to you.
Access to any HaemaLogiX clinical trial begins with a referral from your treating haematologist or oncologist. They will assess whether your disease type, prior treatments, and overall health match the trial's eligibility criteria, and if so, can refer you to an active trial site. We are not able to enrol patients directly. If your doctor would like to discuss our trials, they can contact us at medical@haemalogix.com.
CAR-T cell therapy is a personalised cancer treatment that uses your own T cells (a type of immune cell) to fight your cancer. T cells are collected from your blood, sent to a manufacturing facility where they are genetically modified to recognise a specific target on cancer cells, then grown in large numbers and returned to you as a single infusion. CAR-T therapies are powerful but come with specific risks and require treatment at a specialised centre. HaemaLogiX's KMCAR™ T-cell therapy is a CAR-T directed at the Kappa Myeloma Antigen.
