Blenrep may be prescribed at general hospitals in Korea

Passes drug committees at SNUH, AMC and other tertiary hospitals

Demonstrated superior efficacy versus standard of care regimens in clinical trials

'Blenrep,’ a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) for multiple myeloma, may be prescribed at general hospitals in Korea.

According to industry sources, GSK Korea’s first-in-class anti-BCMA (B-cell maturation antigen) antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) has been approved by the Drug Committees (DCs) of several leading medical institutions, including Seoul National University Hospital, Asan Medical Center, Konkuk University Medical Center, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Pusan National University Hospital, and Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital.

The therapy was designated under Korea's Global Innovative products on Fast Track (GIFT) program and received marketing authorization in December last year. It was launched as a non-reimbursed treatment in April.

GSK has since submitted an application for National Health Insurance reimbursement. Attention is now focused on whether Blenrep will secure reimbursement listing and establish itself as a practical treatment option on site.

Specifically, Blenrep is indicated for use ▲in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone in adults with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior line of therapy, and ▲in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone in adults who have received at least one prior therapy including lenalidomide.

The drug demonstrated its efficacy in the open-label Phase III DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 studies.

In DREAMM-7, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 36.6 months in the Blenrep combination arm (BVd: belantamab mafodotin, bortezomib and dexamethasone), compared with 13.4 months in the control arm (DVd: daratumumab, bortezomib and dexamethasone), representing a statistically significant improvement. At a median follow-up of 39.4 months, the regimen also demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival (OS), reducing the risk of death by 42%.

Results of the interim analysis of DREAMM-8 (median follow-up of 21.8 months) showed that median PFS had not yet been reached in the Blenrep combination arm. Still, the study demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in PFS compared with the 12.7 months observed in the control group.

Meanwhile, multiple myeloma is a hematologic malignancy in which malignant plasma cells proliferate within the bone marrow, replacing normal plasma cells. These malignant cells produce an abnormal protein known as M protein, which can lead to osteolytic bone lesions accompanied by multiple sites of pain as well as anemia. In Korea, approximately 1,961 new cases of multiple myeloma are reported annually (as of 2022, Korea National Cancer Incidence Database), accounting for about 0.7% of total cancer occurrences