Despite considerable advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) in the 
last decade, a substantial proportion of patients do not respond to current 
therapies or have a short duration of response. Furthermore, these treatments 
can have notable morbidity and are not uniformly tolerated in all patients. As 
there is no cure for MM, patients eventually become resistant to therapies, 
leading to development of relapsed/refractory MM. Therefore, an unmet need 
exists for MM treatments with novel mechanisms of action that can provide 
durable responses, evade resistance to prior therapies, and/or are better 
tolerated. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is preferentially expressed by 
mature B lymphocytes, and its overexpression and activation are associated with 
MM in preclinical models and humans, supporting its potential utility as a 
therapeutic target for MM. Moreover, the use of BCMA as a biomarker for MM is 
supported by its prognostic value, correlation with clinical status, and its 
ability to be used in traditionally difficult-to-monitor patient populations. 
Here, we review three common treatment modalities used to target BCMA in the 
treatment of MM: bispecific antibody constructs, antibody-drug conjugates, and 
chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T-cell therapy. We provide an overview 
of preliminary clinical data from trials using these therapies, including the 
BiTE® (bispecific T-cell engager) immuno-oncology therapy AMG 420, the 
antibody-drug conjugate GSK2857916, and several CAR T-cell therapeutic agents 
including bb2121, NIH CAR-BCMA, and LCAR-B38M. Notable antimyeloma activity and 
high minimal residual disease negativity rates have been observed with several 
of these treatments. These clinical data outline the potential for BCMA-targeted 
therapies to improve the treatment landscape for MM. Importantly, clinical 
results to date suggest that these therapies may hold promise for deep and 
durable responses and support further investigation in earlier lines of 
treatment, including newly diagnosed MM.