According to data presented at a medical meeting, GSK’s drug Blenrep has shown promising results in treating multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. In a late-stage study involving 302 patients with relapsed or difficult-to-treat multiple myeloma, Blenrep, when combined with the steroid dexamethasone and pomalidomide, nearly halved the risk of disease progression or death compared to standard-of-care treatments. After one year, 71% of patients who received the Blenrep combination were alive without their disease worsening, compared to 51% of patients treated with pomalidomide, dexamethasone, and bortezomib.
“It is of great significance to have a drug like Blenrep, which can be administered on an outpatient basis, does not require hospitalization, can be accessible in a community setting, and is not hindered by manufacturing challenges like cell therapies,” stated Hesham Abdullah, an executive in oncology at GSK, during an interview.
During the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, detailed data from the trial was presented on Sunday.
Blenrep has faced obstacles in recent years, including its removal from the lucrative U.S. market in 2022 due to its failure to demonstrate superiority over an existing treatment in a separate late-stage study.
However, the release of top-line data from this trial in March, showing a significant improvement in progression-free survival compared to the current standard treatment regimen, seemed to indicate a resurgence for the drug.
According to the company, more than half of the Blenrep patients experienced no disease progression for a median follow-up of 21.8 months, compared to 12.7 months for the standard of care. This shows the potential of the Blenrep combo to redefine the treatment of multiple myeloma, if approved. GSK plans to submit marketing applications to global regulators in the second half of 2024. Other treatments for multiple myeloma include Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex and generic cancer drugs. The study found that eye-related side effects led to a 9% discontinuation rate, but these effects were generally reversible and manageable through dose adjustments.
According to the American Cancer Society, multiple myeloma, the second most prevalent blood cancer worldwide, originates in the bone marrow’s plasma cells and disrupts the production of regular blood cells. It is estimated that around 35,780 new cases of multiple myeloma will be diagnosed in the United States this year, resulting in approximately 12,540 deaths.