The current status of pitobrutinib/pitubrutinib being launched in China is revealed!

Pitobrutinib/Pirtobrutinib , marketed in China as Pitobrutinib, is an innovative non-covalent Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, mainly used to treat relapsed or refractory disease Mantle cell lymphoma(MCL); it can also be used for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) overseas. As the world's first approved non-covalent BTK inhibitor, the approval of pitubrutinib provides new treatment options for these patients, especially those adult patients who have received at least two systemic therapies, including traditional covalent BTK inhibitors such as ibrutinib and acotinib.

Unlike covalentBTK inhibitors, pitobrutinib reversibly binds BTK, thereby circumventing the problem of drug resistance caused by genetic mutations. This property enables it to demonstrate higher remission rates and durable efficacy in the treatment of refractory or relapsed cases. Clinical trial data show that pitubrutinib has achieved significant efficacy in patients, especially in patients who have not achieved good results after multiple treatments. Its safety and tolerability have also been widely recognized.

Although pitubrutinib has great potential in the therapeutic field, so far, the drug has not been included in the scope of national medical insurance, which means that patients need to bear a relatively high financial burden when using the drug. The lack of national medical insurance may affect the medication choices of some patients, limiting its widespread application in clinical practice. Therefore, how to include it in medical insurance and reduce the financial burden on patients will be an important factor in promoting the wider application of this drug in the future.

In addition, the launch of pitubrutinib has also attracted more attention in the industry to non-covalent BTK inhibitors. As more relevant research is conducted, more drugs with similar mechanisms may enter the market in the future, providing patients with more diverse choices.

Reference materials:https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB17472