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news.Millennium Pharmaceuticals has seen its share price rise 5% after the company stopped a Phase III trial of Velcade because the drug had already sufficiently demonstrated its efficacy in treating newly diagnosed multiple myeloma in conjunction with chemotherapy.
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Based on the recommendation of an independent data monitoring committee (IDMC), which conducted the planned interim, the control arm of the trial was stopped early to allow patients still being treated with melphalan and prednisone (MP) to have Velcade added to their therapy.
Paul Richardson, associate professor of medicine and Harvard Medical School and investigator of the Vista trial said: “These results position Velcade based therapy as a new standard of care for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. The combination of Velcade with melphalan and prednisone surpassed all efficacy endpoints, including time-to-disease progression, complete remission rate, progression-free survival and overall survival, and did so, much earlier than expected. We are excited at the possibility this new therapy could be available to our patients sooner.”
Nancy Simonian, CEO said: “An approval in front-line multiple myeloma would double the number of patients eligible to receive the benefit of Velcade. We are confident that Velcade based therapies will become standard of care, since physicians typically use the most active agents in the front-line setting to improve long-term outcomes for patients.”