Multiple myeloma drug Blenrep backed for wider NHS use

The revitalisation of GSK's Blenrep has continued with the news that the NHS in England can use the BCMA-targeting multiple myeloma drug more widely.

In new final draft guidance, reimbursement authority NICE has recommended that Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) can be used in a regimen alongside Takeda's Velcade (bortezomib) and dexamethasone to treat a broader population of patients who need second-line treatment for multiple myeloma.

Last year, Blenrep became an option for around 1,500 patients with multiple myeloma who had received one prior treatment regimen that included lenalidomide, and who no longer responded to – or could not tolerate – the immunomodulatory drug. The revised recommendation extends the uses of Blenrep to also include second-line treatment of patients without prior exposure to lenalidomide.

According to NICE, around 1,600 patients a year will now be eligible for access to GSK's drug, the cost of which will be covered in the interim by the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) while the new guidance is finalised.

"Multiple myeloma is unpredictable and unrelenting, affecting every part of people's lives. We heard directly from patients and their families about the toll relapse can take and how vital it is to have effective options for when that happens," said Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE.

"We also heard from clinicians and patients about how this treatment could be used in the NHS, and we've worked with the company to ensure more patients are now able to benefit from it, providing the hope of a meaningful delay in their disease getting worse," she added.

Blenrep was approved in the UK as a second-line therapy for multiple myeloma last year, based on the DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 trials, three years after the drug was withdrawn from sale as a later-line therapy or failing a confirmatory trial. England was the first country in the world to allow reimbursement of the therapy in June 2025.

The extended recommendations come on the back of the DREAMM-7 trial, which showed the Blenrep regimen was better at extending progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to Genmab and Johnson & Johnson's anti-CD37 therapy Darzalex (daratumumab) plus Velcade and dexamethasone.

"This is excellent news and a hard-earned victory for our myeloma community. We welcome NICE's decision and their commitment to broaden access for patients," said Dr Scott Purdon, head of patient advocacy at patient advocacy organisation Myeloma UK.

"This treatment has been shown in clinical trials to give people remissions of more than three years on average. That's three years people with myeloma will get to live their lives; more time to celebrate birthdays or graduations, to watch their children or grandchildren grow up," he added.

"Until we have a cure, it is absolutely vital that all myeloma patients are given as many options to tackle their cancer as possible – no matter where they are on their treatment journey."

For GSK, Blenrep is one of its key growth prospects, with the company talking about peak sales of £3 billion (around $4 billion), although, it still has a long way to go, with 2025 sales coming in at £17 million.

Factors that could affect its growth include the approval only of the regimen with Velcade and dexamethasone - a second regimen combining the drug with Bristol Myers Squibb's Pomalyst (pomalidomide) and dexamethasone has not been approved - and an increasingly competitive market for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma therapies.