Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval of Kyprolis™ (carfilzomib) for Injection, a proteasome inhibitor, indicated for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies, including bortezomib and an immunomodulatory agent, and have demonstrated disease progression on or within 60 days of completion of the last therapy. The indication for Kyprolis is based on response rate. Currently, no data are available for Kyprolis that demonstrate an improvement in progression-free survival or overall survival.
"Today's approval is a significant milestone for Onyx and, most importantly, for patients with advanced myeloma who have few treatment options available to them," said N. Anthony Coles, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals. "We deeply appreciate the hundreds of patients who participated in the Kyprolis clinical studies that led to this accelerated approval, and recognize the many clinicians across the country and researchers here at Onyx for their dedication in bringing this promising new medicine to patients. We are committed to continuing the clinical development of Kyprolis across earlier stages of multiple myeloma treatment."
The approval was based on the results of the Phase 2b 003-A1 study, a single-arm, multicenter clinical trial that enrolled 266 patients with multiple myeloma who had received a median of five prior anti-myeloma regimens. The primary efficacy endpoint was overall response (ORR) and determined by an Independent Review Committee using the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) criteria. ORR was 22.9% and median response duration was 7.8 months.