On June 16, England’s National Health Service (NHS) announced it has become the world’s first health system to roll out a targeted “trojan horse” therapy for blood cancer patients, which can halt the disease’s progression nearly three times as long as existing treatments.
The therapy, belantamab mafodotin, received approval from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on June 12. It will be available to around 1,500 patients annually suffering from multiple myeloma, an incurable bone marrow cancer. The drug is designed for eligible patients whose cancer has progressed or failed to respond to lenalidomide, a common first-line treatment.
Developed partly in the UK, belantamab mafodotin is an antibody-drug conjugate. It targets and attaches to myeloma cells, acting like a “trojan horse”. Once absorbed by cancer cells, it releases a highly toxic molecule to destroy them from within. Clinical trials involving patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma showed that when combined with bortezomib and dexamethasone, belantamab mafodotin delayed disease progression by an average of three years, compared to just over one year for those treated with the commonly-used daratumumab alongside the same two drugs.
Eligible patients will receive infusions of belantamab mafodotin every three weeks, in combination with bortezomib (injection) and dexamethasone (oral). NHS England is accelerating patient access through immediate funding from the cancer drugs fund.
Paul Silvester, a 60-year-old patient from Sheffield diagnosed with myeloma in 2023, experienced a remarkable turnaround. After joining an early access program, he achieved remission within weeks. “I feel like this treatment has brought the party balloons back in the house. It has been amazing – within the first two or three weeks, after the first dose, I was in remission,” he said.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, noted, “Myeloma is an aggressive type of blood cancer, but we’ve seen steady improvements in patient outcomes with new targeted therapies. I’m delighted English patients will be the first to benefit, potentially keeping cancer at bay for years and allowing more precious time with loved ones.”
Health Minister Karin Smyth emphasized, “This groundbreaking therapy positions the NHS at the forefront of cancer innovation. Harnessing ‘trojan horse’ technology offers new hope to blood cancer patients nationwide. After a year of hard work, we’re confident it will transform thousands of lives with myeloma.”
This milestone not only highlights local innovation, as the drug was partly discovered in Stevenage and first administered to a patient in London, but also showcases the power of scientific collaboration in advancing cancer care globally.
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