Can the targeted drug giritinib cure leukemia with genetic mutations?

Gilteritinib is a targeted cancer therapy called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that kills leukemia cells by binding to the mutated FLT3 protein and blocking its activity. For relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), giritinib has been most clinically successful in terms of response rate as a single agent, tolerability, duration of response, and the ability to avoid some of the common resistance mechanisms of FLT3 inhibitors.

The trial, calledADMIRAL, had 371 participants randomly assigned to receive giditinib or standard chemotherapy. Not only did patients who received geritinib live longer than those who received chemotherapy (median overall survival was 9.3 months instead of 5.6 months), but they were also more likely to achieve a complete response, with their white blood cell counts fully or partially returning to normal levels (34% of patients who received geritinib vs. 15% of those who received chemotherapy). However, there is currently no evidence that giritinib can completely cure leukemias with genetic mutations.

The original drug of geritinib has been launched in China, but it has not yet been included in the medical insurance. The price of each box of 40mg*42 tablets may be more than 20,000 yuan, and the price of the Hong Kong version of the original drug is about 90,000 yuan per box. The price of the European version of the original drug, 40mg*84 tablets, per box listed overseas is around RMB 210,000 (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates), which is very expensive. Generic drugs of giritinib are currently produced and sold overseas, and their drug ingredients are basically the same as those of the original drugs sold domestically and abroad. For example, the price of 40mg*84 tablets per box produced by a Laos pharmaceutical factory is more than 4,000 yuan (the price may fluctuate due to the exchange rate).