The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Besremi (ropeginterferon alfa-2b-njft) injection to treat adults with polycythemia vera, a blood disease that causes the overproduction of red blood cells. Besremi is the first FDA-approved medication for polycythemia vera that patients can take regardless of their treatment history, and the first interferon therapy specifically approved for polycythemia vera. Besremi received orphan drug designation for this indication.
The approval follows an evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of Besremi, as tested in a multicentre, single-arm trial that lasted 7.5 years. In this trial, 51 adults with polycythemia vera received Besremi for an average of about five years.
