The World's First! Bristol-Myers Squibb's Red Blood Cell Maturation Agent Liblose® Launched in China

On June 14, ‍Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the world's first and currently only red blood cell maturation agent, Liblose® (generic name "Rotercept for Injection") was officially launched in China. As the first innovative drug for the treatment of β-thalassemia (hereafter referred to as 'β-thalassemia') in China in more than ten years, Liblose® will be used to treat the need for regular red blood cell transfusion and red blood cell transfusion ≤ 15 units 1/ 24-week beta-thalassemia in adults.

As an innovative therapeutic drug, rotercept can effectively reduce the blood transfusion burden in patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, which has brought positive significance to relieve the tension of blood supply in society. It is estimated that the annual blood transfusion volume for responding Chinese patients is expected to be reduced by approximately 57%5. The Phase III clinical study BELIEVE confirmed that the proportion of patients with ≥33% reduction in blood transfusion burden from baseline was nearly 5 times that of the placebo group from 13 to 24 weeks (21.4% vs 4.5%) when treated with rotacept. The rate was 15 times higher than in the placebo group at any 24 weeks (41.1% vs 2.7%).

At the 2022 European Hematology Association Annual Meeting (EHA), the long-term efficacy and safety data of the BELIEVE study were announced. The data showed that more patients in the rotercept group had a lower blood transfusion burden after a median treatment of about 154 weeks. , and it was well tolerated, reaffirming that long-term treatment with rotacept can bring sustained benefits to patients.