Belumosudil for Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Analysis of Long-Term Results from the KD025-208 and ROCKstar

Stephanie J Lee1, Steven Pavletic2, Bruce R Blazar3

  • 1Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington.

Insights

Belumosudil, a ROCK2 inhibitor, shows durable responses and remains well-tolerated for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) treatment. Long-term follow-up confirms its safety and efficacy in patients post-allogeneic transplant.

Area of Science:

  • Hematology
  • Immunology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Belumosudil is an oral selective rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase-2 (ROCK2) inhibitor.
  • It is approved for treating chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant.
  • Previous studies (KD025-208, ROCKstar) showed tolerability and meaningful responses in cGVHD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of belumosudil in patients with cGVHD.
  • To report pooled analysis results from extended treatment in KD025-208 and ROCKstar studies.
  • To assess overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), failure-free survival (FFS), and time to next treatment (TTNT).

Main Methods:

  • Pooled analysis of data from KD025-208, ROCKstar, and KD025-217 studies.
  • Inclusion of 208 patients across three cohorts receiving different daily doses of belumosudil (200 mg once or twice daily, 400 mg once daily).
  • Evaluation of primary endpoint (best ORR) and secondary endpoints (DOR, FFS, TTNT) in the modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population.

Main Results:

  • The best overall response rate (ORR) in the mITT population was 72%.
  • Median DOR was 62.3 weeks; median FFS was 15.1 months with 1- and 2-year FFS rates of 56% and 40%.
  • Median time to next treatment (TTNT) was 22.1 months, with 47% receiving new systemic therapy by 36 months.

Conclusions:

  • Long-term results demonstrate that belumosudil is associated with durable responses in cGVHD patients.
  • Belumosudil remains well-tolerated with no new safety concerns identified during long-term follow-up.
  • These findings support the continued use of belumosudil for managing chronic graft-versus-host disease.