PharmaEssentia eyes expanded US use of Besremi after positive Phase III data

Taiwanese biotech PharmaEssentia (TWSE: 6446) is preparing to seek an expanded US label for its long-acting interferon Besremi (ropeginterferon alfa-2b) following new late-stage data that show the therapy outperforms anagrelide in treating essential thrombocythaemia (ET) after hydroxyurea failure.

Full results from the Phase III SURPASS-ET trial were presented Monday during the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, and may pave the way for a US regulator submission later this year.

According to Albert Qin, chief medical officer at PharmaEssentia USA, the findings “highlight a significant advance in the treatment of essential thrombocythemia.”