NMDP and CIBMTR to Present Research Advancing Transplant Access and Cell Therapy Innovation at ASH 2025
NMDP℠, a leading global nonprofit dedicated to advancing cell therapy, and the CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®) announced that they will present a broad range of new and meaningful research at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, taking place December 6–9, 2025, in Orlando, Florida. Collectively, these presentations highlight NMDP’s continued dedication to enhancing allogeneic cell therapy, expanding transplant access, and ultimately improving patient outcomes—particularly for those who historically face barriers in securing matched donors.
The accepted abstracts include groundbreaking data from the ACCESS clinical trial (NCT04904588), a central component of NMDP’s Donor For All research initiative. This initiative is designed to develop safe and effective strategies to broaden transplant availability by leveraging mismatched unrelated donors (MMUD). These efforts are especially critical for patients from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, who continue to face substantial inequities when searching international registries for a fully matched donor. As part of this endeavor, ACCESS examined the role of post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in reducing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients undergoing transplantation with mismatched peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) grafts.
ACCESS Study Demonstrates Encouraging Survival Across Mismatch Levels
One of the highlight presentations of ASH 2025 will feature the findings of this pivotal ACCESS study. In an oral session, investigators will discuss the outcomes of 268 adult patients who underwent allogeneic PBSC transplantation using grafts with 4/8 to 7/8 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches. The cohort represented a wide spectrum of racial and ethnic backgrounds, underscoring the relevance of the trial for populations that traditionally lack access to fully matched unrelated donors.
The results demonstrated a highly encouraging one-year overall survival rate exceeding 80%. Moreover, these outcomes were similar between participants receiving 7/8 matched grafts and those transplanted with grafts that were less than 7/8 matched. Key transplantation outcomes—including relapse rates, non-relapse mortality, and rates of GVHD—remained favorable across the study population. Investigators also reported low rates of primary graft failure and chronic GVHD across multiple conditioning approaches, further reinforcing the potential of this strategy to support broader access to allogeneic transplantation.
“The clinical implications of these new data demonstrate that patients with common blood cancers from varied backgrounds can achieve similarly high rates of survival, whether they receive a 7/8 or less than 7/8 donor graft,” noted Antonio Jimenez Jimenez, M.D., senior author and lead investigator of the Mismatched Allogeneic Transplant Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System. “These data are welcome news for patients for whom traditionally finding a suitably matched donor is a challenge.”
Through Donor For All and related initiatives, NMDP is working to eliminate barriers to transplant by enabling patients—particularly those representing diverse ancestries—to proceed with life-saving procedures even in the absence of a fully matched donor. The ACCESS trial’s findings support a more flexible understanding of acceptable HLA matching thresholds when PTCy-based prophylaxis is used, potentially opening the door to near-universal donor access.
MEASURE Study Explores Genomic Characterization in AML
Another major scientific contribution to be presented at ASH 2025 comes from the MEASURE trial (NCT05224661), a multicenter study evaluating genomic profiling in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Researchers will provide an oral presentation that includes data from 255 adult AML patients, detailing efforts to evaluate the utility of whole genome sequencing (WGS) as a unified diagnostic approach for detecting mutational signatures in AML.
The MEASURE Genome Atlas—a newly developed, comprehensive reference resource for AML—emerges from this work. It offers a detailed view of the biological underpinnings of AML, highlighting clinically relevant genomic features at diagnosis and at complete remission. This project provides novel insights into disease evolution, informs improvements in diagnostic workflows, and offers a valuable foundation for future therapeutic development and clinical testing.
Together, these findings represent a step forward in applying precision medicine tools to hematologic malignancies, potentially informing more tailored treatment pathways for patients with AML.
Broad Scope of CIBMTR-Led Science to Be Showcased
In addition to the ACCESS and MEASURE studies, CIBMTR researchers will share a robust portfolio of data reflecting multiple dimensions of transplant optimization. These include further detailed analyses from ACCESS, newly collected data from the ACCELERATE study (NCT06859424), and ongoing research into donor selection strategies, survivorship, and immune cell activity following transplant.
The ACCELERATE trial is a platform protocol designed to evaluate several PTCy-based GVHD prophylaxis regimens for patients undergoing MMUD PBSC transplantation for hematologic cancers. These investigational strategies aim to refine and expand the applicability of PTCy-based protocols, enabling safer graft-versus-host-disease management in settings where full HLA matching is not feasible.
“Our findings underscore how innovation and data are driving us closer to ensuring that every patient in need of a blood stem cell transplant can find a suitable donor,” said Steven M. Devine, M.D., chief medical officer at NMDP and executive lead of CIBMTR. “The ACCESS trial data supports extending MMUD transplant eligibility to patients receiving grafts with less than 7/8 HLA matches using PTCy, pointing to the possibility of near-universal donor access. We look forward to engaging with the broader scientific community at ASH to discuss these exciting developments.”
Overview of ASH 2025 Presentations
NMDP and CIBMTR will deliver several key oral and poster presentations across four days, reflecting the depth and diversity of their research programs.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Longer Telomeres in Donors Aged ≤35 Years Reduce Graft Failure and Non-Relapse Mortality After Allogeneic HCT
- Presenting Author: N. Gagelmann
- Session: Oral
- Abstract: #373
- Date/Time: December 6, 2025 | 4:00–4:15 p.m. ET
- Location: OCCC – W340 (Sunburst)
The MEASURE Genome Atlas: Acute Myeloid Leukemia at Diagnosis and Complete Remission
- Presenting Author: K. Yu
- Session: Oral
- Abstract: #455
- Date/Time: December 7, 2025 | 10:30–10:45 a.m. ET
- Location: OCCC – W415A (Valencia)
Mismatching of Unrelated Donors Beyond a Single HLA-Locus Does Not Adversely Impact Outcomes at One Year After Transplantation: Results from the NMDP-Sponsored ACCESS Study
- Presenting Author: A. Jimenez Jimenez
- Session: Oral
- Abstract: #936
- Date/Time: December 8, 2025 | 4:00–4:15 p.m. ET
- Location: OCCC – W331
Vδ2 Unconventional T Cells in the Donor Graft Are Associated With Improved Overall Survival After Unrelated Donor Allo-HCT for AML and MDS: An Analysis from the DKMS and NMDP Graft Composition Study
- Presenting Author: K. Markey
- Session: Oral
- Abstract: #1057
- Date/Time: December 8, 2025 | 4:30–4:45 p.m. ET
- Location: OCCC – W415A (Valencia)
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Impact of HLA Alloimmunization on Availability of Well-Matched and Mismatched Unrelated Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Donors for Transplantation (DSA Match)
- Presenting Author: B. Shaffer
- Session: Poster
- Abstract: #2434
- Date/Time: December 6, 2025 | 5:30–7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: OCCC – West Halls B3–B4
Phase II Study of PTCy-Based GVHD Prophylaxis Following HLA-Mismatched Unrelated Donor Transplantation with Reduced-Intensity Conditioning: Results from the NMDP-Sponsored ACCESS Expansion Study
- Presenting Author: M. Gooptu
- Session: Poster
- Abstract: #4232
- Date/Time: December 7, 2025 | 6:00–8:00 p.m. ET
- Location: OCCC – West Halls B3–B4
Living the Recovery: One-Year Quality of Life Outcomes for Patients Receiving PTCy GVHD Prophylaxis in the ACCESS Clinical Trial (ACCESS PRO)
- Presenting Author: R. Cusatis
- Session: Poster
- Abstract: #6042
- Date/Time: December 8, 2025 | 6:00–8:00 p.m. ET
- Location: OCCC – West Halls B3–B4
ACCELERATE: A Platform Protocol to Investigate PTCy-Based GVHD Prophylaxis in Patients Undergoing MMUD PBSC Transplant for Hematologic Malignancies
CIBMTR represents a research collaboration between the Medical College of Wisconsin® and NMDP. Together, these organizations support global research and data collection that enable scientific and clinical progress in the fields of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation and cell-based therapy.
By advancing data-driven clinical research and building tools that expand donor options, NMDP and CIBMTR remain committed to improving survival, reducing complications, and delivering equitable access to transplant therapies worldwide.
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