US guides recommend Pharma Essentia’s Besremi to treat polycythemia vera

Pharma Essentia Korea said that the U.S. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines have updated Besremi (Ingredient: ropeginterferon alfa-2b) as a recommended option for the treatment of polycythemia vera (PV).

According to the company, Besremi is the only first-line treatment and next-generation interferon approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat PV. The FDA approved the drug in November.

Under the new guidelines, the NCCN recommends using Besremi for high- and low-risk PV patients, regardless of treatment history.

“What is noteworthy is the updated guidelines recommend Besremi for both primary and secondary treatment, regardless of previous treatment experience,” Korean Society of Hematology President Lee Je-hwan said. “Notably, the guideline has recommended Besremi as the only treatment option that physicians can prescribe from an early stage for low-risk patients dependent on blood pressure treatment.”

Pharma Essentia Korea’s medical director, Kim Ki-won, also said, “The company hopes that Korean PV patients who had only one treatment option with hydroxyurea, a chemotherapeutic agent burdensome for long-term treatment, can also use Besremi to treat the cause of the disease so that it does not progress to myelofibrosis or leukemia.”

NCCN guidelines’ updating of its recommendation for Besremi in less than three months after its approval by the FDA demonstrates the efficacy of the drug receiving recognition in the U.S., Kim added.

Pharma Essentia is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Taiwan focusing on developing new treatments for illnesses related to hematologic oncology. The company established its Korean offshoot in May 2020.