Efficacy and safety of generic pomalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: a multicenter, open-label, single-arm trial

This multicenter, open-label, single-arm trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05236621) was conducted to confirm the efficacy and safety of generic pomalidomide plus dexamethasone in Chinese patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Total 79 eligible RRMM patients were planned to be included. Patients were treated with generic pomalidomide (4 mg daily on days 1–21, orally) and low-dose dexamethasone (40 mg/day on days 1, 8, 15, and 22, orally; 20 mg for patients aged > 75 years) in 28-day cycles until disease progression with a maximum treatment duration of 2 years. The primary endpoint is the overall response rate (ORR) assessed by the independent review committee per the 2016 International Myeloma Working Group guidelines. A total of 85 eligible patients were included in this study from 32 centers in China, with a median age of 62.0 (range, 39–76) years, a median prior line of therapy of 4 (range, 1–16), and 41.2% patients with high-risk cytogenetics. The ORR was 38.8% (95% confidence interval (CI), 28.44–50.01). The disease control rate was 67.1% (95% CI, 56.02–76.87), meanwhile, the median progression-free survival was 5.55 months (95% CI, 3.68–7.52). Among the treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), infective pneumonia (17.6%) was the most frequent non-hematologic adverse event, while a decrease in neutrophil count (52.9%) was the most common grade ≥ 3 TRAE. The study results indicated that the generic pomalidomide demonstrated consistent efficacy and a safety profile similar to the branded pomalidomide when combined with low-dose dexamethasone in Chinese RRMM patients. Registration number ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05236621, retrospectively registered on February 11, 2022.