HONG KONG – Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has obtained Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) approval for a combination regimen containing antimicrotubule binding anti-CD79b monoclonal antibody Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin), bendamustine and Mabthera (rituximab) to treat relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL).

The latest salvo in the debate over patents protecting COVID-19-related drugs, devices and vaccines came this week from U.S. industry organizations, including Advamed, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

The first BCMA-targeted CAR T therapy, idecabtagene vicleucel, cleared FDA approval for use in adults with multiple myeloma (MM) who have received four or more prior lines of therapy. Developed by partners Bluebird Bio Inc. and Bristol Myers Squibb Co., the drug, branded Abecma, is also the first CAR T drug indicated for MM. It is designed for use as a one-time infusion, with a recommended dose range of 300 to 460 x 106 CAR-positive T cells. The personalized therapy will be produced at BMS’ cellular manufacturing facility in Summit, N.J. Bluebird developed the lentiviral vector used in Abecma.

Suzhou-China based Cstone Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., which in-licensed RET inhibitor pralsetinib from Blueprint Medicines Corp. in 2018, has won Chinese approval for the drug to treat adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy. Already approved as Gavreto in the U.S., the drug is Cstone’s first product approved in China and the country’s first selective RET inhibitor.