NHS starts first national rollout of Blenrep for myeloma

England is the first country in the world to make GSK's anti-BCMA drug Blenrep available to patients with the haematological cancer multiple myeloma, in the latest stage of the medicine's renaissance.

The NHS in England will now be able to offer Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin) to around 1,500 patients a year with multiple myeloma whose cancer has progressed or not responded to first-line treatment after it was recommended by cost-effectiveness agency NICE.

NICE's backing comes after the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) delivered the first regulatory approval for the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) based on new clinical data, after it was pulled from the market in 2022 for failing a confirmatory trial as a later-line therapy. It has also been approved in Japan, with reviews ongoing in the US, EU, and China.

The resurrection of Blenrep comes on the back of results from the DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 trials, which showed that it was able to improve clinical outcomes when given alongside other therapies as a second-line option after initial treatment with lenalidomide-based therapy for the incurable bone marrow cancer.

NICE's endorsement covers the use of Blenrep in combination with Takeda's Velcade (bortezomib) plus dexamethasone, which in DREAMM-7 was found to be better at extending overall survival (OS) compared to Genmab and Johnson & Johnson's anti-CD37 therapy Darzalex (daratumumab) plus Velcade and dexamethasone.

NHS England said it is fast-tracking access to the treatment for patients from today, with funding provided by the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), a facility by which interim funding is provided for promising therapies while additional efficacy and safety data is generated.

"It's fantastic to see the UK at the forefront of myeloma treatment," said Shelagh McKinlay, director of research and advocacy at blood cancer charity Myeloma UK.

"NHS England has demonstrated that it is possible for myeloma patients to have world-first access to innovative drugs," she added. "We have been working very hard for the last year to get this treatment approved and we know it will transform the lives of thousands of people with myeloma."

GSK was predicting blockbuster sales for Blenrep when it first launched in 2020, so its withdrawal from sale was seen as a heavy blow to the company's aspirations to grow in oncology., Now, the drugmaker is hoping for peak annual sales of around £3 billion (nearly $4 billion) for the drug, assuming it also breaks into first-line use in multiple myeloma.

To that end, it is running the DREAMM-10 study in newly diagnosed, transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma patients, pitting Blenrep plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone against Darzalex plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone.