Barbara Eichhorst

Barbara Eichhorst, MD is Professor of Internal Medicine at the University Hospital of Cologne and Deputy Head of the German CLL Study Group (GCLLSG), one of the world's most productive and influential CLL cooperative clinical trial organizations. Prof. Eichhorst served as principal investigator of the landmark CLL11 trial (NEJM 2014), the phase III study that established obinutuzumab (GA101), a next-generation glycoengineered type II anti-CD20 antibody, as superior to rituximab when combined with chlorambucil in previously untreated CLL patients with comorbidities. CLL11 demonstrated that obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil achieved significantly improved PFS (HR 0.39; p<0.001) and MRD negativity rates compared with rituximab plus chlorambucil, and led to the first FDA approval of obinutuzumab in November 2013 — marking the first time a new drug for front-line CLL was approved based on superiority over an existing standard in over a decade. Prof. Eichhorst has been the central architect of GCLLSG's comprehensive trial program spanning fit, unfit, and high-risk CLL populations, including the CLL10 trial comparing FCR versus BR in fit patients, and the CLL2-BIG/BAG studies of venetoclax and ibrutinib-based induction strategies. She has co-authored the iwCLL guidelines for CLL response criteria and represents Germany in major international CLL collaborations. With over 250 publications, she is one of the most influential CLL clinical trialists in Europe.