FDA approves Kyprolis for some patients with multiple myeloma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Kyprolis (carfilzomib) to treat patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies, including treatment with Velcade (bortezomib) and an immunomodulatory therapy. A form of blood cancer that arises from plasma cells, multiple myeloma usually grows in bone marrow, the soft, spongy tissue found inside most bones. The bone marrow is where normal blood cells are produced. In 2012, an estimated 21,700 people will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma and 10,710 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
"The approval of Kyprolis provides a treatment option to patients with multiple myeloma whose disease has progressed despite use of available therapies," said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "We are encouraged by the continued progress in the development of drugs for multiple myeloma over the past decade, offering improved treatment of this disease."