Biogen’s felzartamab has been approved in China as a treatment for adults with multiple myeloma, adding a third CD38 inhibitor to an increasingly competitive market.

China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved felzartamab, marketed as Jingfei, in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone for adults receiving second-line treatment for multiple myeloma.

The approval follows Biogen’s acquisition of the Greater China rights to felzartamab from TJ Biopharma in April 2026, giving Biogen exclusive worldwide rights to the drug and moving the company into the Chinese oncology market.

Felzartamab enters established CD38 market

Felzartamab is a CD38-targeting monoclonal antibody. The approval makes it the third anti-CD38 antibody available for multiple myeloma in China, following daratumumab from Johnson & Johnson and isatuximab from Sanofi.

Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that commonly returns after treatment, meaning patients may require several lines of therapy over the course of their disease.

The Chinese market is therefore already well supplied with multiple myeloma treatments, with competition between established therapies and newer drugs in development.

GlobalData analyst Abhishake Peyyeti said felzartamab could offer a convenience advantage because of its infusion time.

“Felzartamab addresses critical gaps in care by reducing CD38 monoclonal antibody infusion times to 30–90 minutes,” he said.

Peyyeti added that the shorter administration time could reduce the burden on treatment centres and patients, particularly among older people with multiple myeloma.

Biogen targets crowded Chinese market

The approval gives Biogen access to a Chinese multiple myeloma market in which established CD38 therapies already have a presence.

GlobalData’s patient-based forecast estimates that felzartamab could account for 14.6% of the Chinese multiple myeloma market in 2029.

However, felzartamab will face competition not only from intravenous therapies but also from subcutaneous formulations designed to reduce administration burden.

Peyyeti said: “While the Chinese multiple myeloma market remains crowded, felzartamab’s shorter infusion narrows the gap with intravenous Darzalex, but J&J’s subcutaneous Darzalex Faspro remains the convenience benchmark Biogen has to price and position against.”

The competitive position of felzartamab will therefore depend not only on clinical efficacy but also on how its administration time and pricing compare with existing treatment options.

Multiple myeloma pipeline remains active

China also has a growing pipeline of multiple myeloma treatments. GlobalData estimates that 85 drugs are currently in development for the disease in the country, spanning Phase 1 to Phase 3 programmes.

The approval of felzartamab gives Biogen an established treatment to commercialise while newer therapies continue to move through clinical development.

For patients receiving second-line treatment, the drug will now compete within an established CD38 inhibitor class rather than entering an untreated market.

Felzartamab is also being developed in other indications, although its approval in China for multiple myeloma represents Biogen’s current commercial entry point for the drug in the country.