Chinese authorities approve Sino Pharma’s lenalidomide for multiple melanoma

Source: Pharmaceutical Technology, February 2019

Chinese Sino Pharmaceutical has announced that China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved its subsidiary Chia-Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical’s anti-tumour drug lenalidomide for multiple melanoma.

The approval is due to the convenience of oral administration, proven efficacy and good safety profile, and allows the drug to be taken in conjunction with dexamethasone.

Lenalidomide is a synthetic glutamic acid derivative and a more chemically stable analogue of thalidomide, which is known for causing birth deformities in the babies of mothers prescribed it to mitigate morning sickness.