GlaxoSmithKline jumps into myeloma with 'homemade' anti-BCMA drug Blenrep

Back in 2015, GlaxoSmithKline traded away its marketed cancer assets and began building its oncology pipeline “pretty aggressively,” as Axel Hoos, the company’s SVP of Oncology R&D, puts it. Those efforts have finally paid off with a new approval. But just how much remains to be seen, with analysts expecting "limited adoption" for the company's newcomer thanks to a Black Box warning for eye toxicity. The FDA late Wednesday green-lighted Blenrep—formerly known as belantamab mafodotin—a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate for multiple myeloma patients who have already tried four other options, including an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent.