GSK’s multiple myeloma drug, Blenrep, nearly halved the risk of disease progression or death compared to standard treatments for incurable blood cancer. This data comes from a late-stage study presented at a medical meeting.
In the trial involving 302 patients with relapsed or difficult-to-treat multiple myeloma, 71% of those receiving Blenrep with dexamethasone and pomalidomide were alive without disease worsening after a year. This is compared to a progression-free survival (PFS) rate of 51% for those treated with pomalidomide, dexamethasone, and bortezomib.
GSK oncology executive Hesham Abdullah highlighted Blenrep’s convenience, noting that it can be administered on an outpatient basis without hospitalization.
Blenrep had faced setbacks, including its removal from the US market in 2022 after failing to show superiority over an existing treatment in a different late-stage study. Over half of the Blenrep patients were alive without disease progression after a median follow-up of 21.8 months, compared to 12.7 months PFS for the standard of care.
GSK plans to file marketing applications with global regulators in the second half of 2024.
Treatments for multiple myeloma include Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex and other generic cancer drugs. In April, the US FDA approved two cell therapies—J&J’s Carvykti and Bristol Myers’ Abecma—as earlier lines of treatment for less severe multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma, the world’s second-most common blood cancer, starts in plasma cells in the bone marrow and disrupts normal blood cell production. The American Cancer Society estimates that roughly 35,780 new multiple myeloma cases will be diagnosed, with 12,540 deaths expected in the United States this year.
