Biologics by McKesson, an independent specialty pharmacy specializing in oncology and rare disease areas, was selected by Geron Corporation as a limited specialty pharmacy provider for RYTELOTM (imetelstat) for the treatment of adult patients with low- to intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with transfusion-dependent anemia requiring four or more red blood cell units over eight weeks who have not responded to, have lost response to, or are ineligible for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA).
RYTELO, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 6, 2024, is a first-in-class telomerase inhibitor. RYTELO binds to the template region of the RNA component of human telomerase (hTR), inhibiting telomerase enzymatic activity and preventing telomere binding.1 Increased telomerase activity has been reported in MDS malignant stem and progenitor cells.