Celgene reports positive data from myeloma drug trial

Celgene has published new clinical data which illustrates the potential advantages its drug Revlimid can deliver to certain multiple myeloma patients.

The company conducted a phase III trial which evaluated the drug’s efficacy among patients newly diagnosed with the condition following an autologous stem cell transplant.

It was found that only 13.8 per cent using this treatment regime experienced a progression of the disease at a median follow-up period of 12 months, compared to 27.9 of those in the placebo control group.

The most common side effects associated with Revlimid during the trial were neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and infections, while there was no difference in the rate of grade five adverse events among both groups.

Celgene added that a higher percentage of the Revlimid group survived the entire trial, although the study period was too short to form a conclusion about overall survival benefits.

This data was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting this week, where the company also published new data on Rituxan, a new treatment for indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.