Johnson & Johnson is dropping a partnership with Genmab centered around a CD38 monoclonal antibody, prompting the latter company to discontinue development of the program.

Trailing Johnson & Johnson’s powerhouse Darzalex by roughly five years in its development timeline has made it challenging for Sanofi’s Sarclisa—the only other CD38 antibody on the market for multiple myeloma—to compete in the indication.

GSK’s antibody-drug conjugate Blenrep has mounted a sizable patient survival benefit among certain multiple myeloma patients in a head-to-head comparison against Johnson & Johnson’s industry-leading Darzalex.

After a positive phase 3 trial, Johnson & Johnson hopes its Darzalex could become the first treatment option for patients with smoldering multiple myeloma, an early-stage form of the blood disorder.

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While sales for Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex continue to boom—as the company reported in its quarterly earnings presentation on Tuesday—the pharma major got more good news about its blockbuster multiple myeloma treatment with a victory in an arbitration case.

Another data face-off between the two anti-CD38 multiple myeloma drugs—Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex and Sanofi’s Sarclisa—took place at the 65th American Society of Hematology meeting. Both regimens showed strong efficacy data in newly diagnosed patients, but only one result is considered practice-changing right now.

Genmab A/S decided to file a request to review the award dismissing its claims in the second arbitration arising under its license agreement with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Biotech Inc for Darzalex (daratumumab).