Following after the success of its phase III finding, it was with great pride that Amgen, a multinational biopharmaceutical company, has recently announced that its drug named Carfilzomib or sometimes referred to as Kyprolis plus dexamethasone has allegedly improved the overall survival (OS) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma by up to 21 percent as compared to its close competitor dexamethasone plus bortezomib or Velcade. The researchers of study has claimed that the findings have reportedly met the key secondary endpoint of OS, which has also shown that for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma treated with Carfilzomib and dexamethasone (Kd) has managed to have lived for 7.6 months. The safety data, which will be fully presented at the 16th International Myeloma Workshop, which is being held in New Delhi from March 1 to 4, 2017, were consistent with previously reported study outcomes.
Carfilzomib And Its Properties
In one of his statements reported by ONC Live, Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, professor of Clinical Therapeutics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, who also happens to be the study's co-author has claimed that for an incurable disease like multiple myeloma, a major treatment goal for oncologists and hematologists is to help patients live as long as possible. Based on these data, Prof. Dimopoulos said that the team now knows that Kyprolis does not only have the ability to significantly extend the progression-free survival (PFS) as compared to Velcade, but also the overall survival chances. The researchers have also noted that the finding makes it a clinically meaningful advance in the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
Furthermore, according to Yahoo, Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen has revealed that the results serve as an affirmation of the superiority of Kyprolis over Velcade in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients. Additionally, Harper said that they were the only team to study and demonstrate a survival benefit in a head-to-head comparison with a current standard of care regimen which has also been supported by Kyprolis as a foundational therapy in this patient population. For the study, it was found that the trial has allegedly been designed for patients aged 18 years and older with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas whose disease has progressed after first-line gemcitabine therapy.
The Downside Of Carfilzomib
Meanwhile, experts have highly emphasized that adverse events observed in this updated analysis were consistent with those previously reported for the study dubbed as ENDEAVOR. The most common adverse events in the Kyprolis arm were anemia, diarrhea, pyrexia, dyspnea, fatigue, hypertension, cough, insomnia, upper respiratory tract infection, peripheral edema, nausea, bronchitis, asthenia, back pain, thrombocytopenia and headache. Ultimately, it was found that the primary endpoint of the study is overall survival (OS), while the secondary endpoints are progression-free survival and overall response rate.
