Individuals suffering from multiple myeloma now have another option to consider if their body doesn't respond to existing medication.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new drug called Pomalyst, or pomalidomide, intended for multiple myeloma patients that have tried other drugs only to see them fail.
The drug is manufactured by the New Jersey-based Celgene Corporation, and is expected to help a significant number of the 22,000 people in the United States who'll be diagnosed with the disease this year. More than 10,000 people die from the illness on a yearly basis.
"Pomalyst is the third drug in a class of immunomodulatory agents that included lenalidomide and thalidomide and is the second drug approved in the past year to treat multiple myeloma," said Richard Pazdur, MD, of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a press statement.
"Treatment for multiple myeloma is tailored to meet individual patients' needs and today's approval provided an additional treatment option for patients who have not responded to other drugs."
Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that forms in the plasma cells within a person's bone marrow. The disease primarily affects older adults, but many of them have become resistant to contemporary treatments, forcing drug companies to race for alternative solutions.
"Pomalyst marks the second treatment to receive accelerated approval in the last seven months, which is unparalleled in any other cancer," the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation said in a statement to Reuters.
While the approval of the drug is positive news, the new treatment does cause some serious side-effects, such as blood clots. The FDA does not recommend the Pomalyst for pregnant women, either, because of its ability to cause life-threatening birth defects. Because of these risks, the drug will only be available by prescription through the Pomalyst Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Program.
Other side effects include decrease in infection-fighting white blood cells (neutropenia), fatigue and weakness, low red blood cell count (anemia), constipation, diarrhea, low levels of platelets in the blood (thrombocytopenia), upper respiratory tract infections, back pain and fever.
