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 Amgen's
Krypolis fails newly diagnosed multiple myeloma study
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[September 27, 2016]
(Reuters) - Amgen Inc said on
Tuesday its multiple myeloma drug, Kyprolis, was not found superior to
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd's Velcade in a late-stage study in
previously untreated patients.
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 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already approved Kyprolis
for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have
previously undergone one or more treatments.
The latest study tested a regimen of Krypolis against Velcade in
patients who also received the chemothereutic agent melphalan and
the immunosuppressant prednisone, and were deemed ineligible for
stem-cell transplants.
On average, those who received Krypolis did not live longer than
those on Velcade without their cancer worsening, which means the
Amgen drug failed the main goal of "progression-free survival" in
the trial.
The drug for this form of frequently relapsing and
difficult-to-treat cancer generated $172 million in revenue in the
second quarter ended June 30.
Multiple myeloma, a type of aggressive and incurable blood cancer
that develops in the bone marrow, kills 12,650 annually and will be
diagnosed in an estimated 30,330 Americans this year, according to
the American Cancer Society.
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Amgen said it would continue to explore the drug's benefit in
combination with other agents. The FDA has already sanctioned the
use of the drug in combination with other therapies for multiple
myeloma.
Shares of Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen slipped 0.5 percent
to $172.56 in light premarket trading.
Up to Monday's close, Amgen's stock had risen 6.9 percent this year.
(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Natalie Grover in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sunil Nair and Maju Samuel)
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