French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY) has announced that its drug Rezurock (belumosudil), the world’s first and only ROCK2 inhibitor for the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), has received marketing approval in China. Clinical data indicates that Rezurock achieves a 75% overall response rate (ORR), a 75% 6-month failure-free survival rate (FFS), and an 89% 2-year overall survival rate. The drug operates through a dual mechanism of anti-inflammation and anti-fibrosis. It aids in restoring immune balance while inhibiting ROCK2 in fibroblasts, preventing the aggregation of G-actin into F-actin and modulating the expression of pro-fibrotic genes by myocardial associated transcription factors (MRTF), thus inhibiting myofibroblast differentiation and the progression of fibrosis.
Glucocorticoid with/out calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) is the standard first-line treatment for cGVHD, and until now, there has been no approved second-line treatment option in China. Rezurock is now the sole approved drug for second-line cGVHD treatment in the country, offering a targeted approach that can significantly reduce or even eliminate the need for steroid therapy.- Flcube.com
