The first BCMA-targeting agent to gain approval in myeloma never became the blockbuster for which GSK had hoped, but Blenrep appears to have set a new standard for speed of voluntary withdrawal of an accelerated approval drug after a confirmatory trial failure.

The firms’ gene therapy Hemgenix has won a US thumbs up for the treatment of hemophilia B and plans are underway for a US launch with a big price tag that experts agree should pay off in the long-term.

Plus deals involving Dong-A/Polifarma, Intas/Syna, Kissei/Synmosa, Ono/Memo, Takeda/Shionogi, Fosun/Lilly and JW Therapeutics/2seventy bio.

FDA review of the company's BLA for a hemophilia gene therapy could be delayed by three months to allow the agency to review a three-year data analysis from an ongoing trial.