Preliminary results from an ongoing Phase 2 trial show that a combination therapy of Velcade (bortezomib) and Torisel (temsirolimus) is highly effective in reducing blood and urine levels of abnormal monoclonal protein (known as “M” protein) in multiple myeloma patients. The preliminary study results will be presented at the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) 51st annual meeting in New Orleans on Monday, December 7.

Myeloma cells produce M proteins. Higher levels of M proteins are directly related to increased disease progression and severity.

Torisel, a drug already approved for use in …

In a recent Phase 2 study, Torisel (temsirolimus) showed little ability to reduce blood and urine levels of abnormal monoclonal protein (known as “M” protein) in relapsed multiple myeloma patients. The results were published in the November issue of the journal Leukemia Research.

Despite recent advancement in treatment options, many myeloma patients relapse and experience disease progression. Therefore, the search continues for new alternatives to treat the disease, especially for patients where previous therapy has proved unsuccessful.

Torisel, a drug already approved for use in advanced renal cell carcinoma, shows potential for …

In a recent study published in the journal Blood, researchers reviewed pre­vi­ously reported research and found a general correlation between “complete response” to ther­apy and survival for multiple myeloma patients.

Complete response, which is defined as a normal bone marrow evaluation and a negative immuno­fix­a­tion (a test to detect ab­nor­mal anti­bodies in the blood or urine), has been correlated to patient out­come for many blood cancers. However, conventional chemotherapy has rarely produced com­plete responses in myeloma patients.

The sig­nif­i­cance of a com­plete response to myeloma treat­ment was not important until the introduction …

On Monday, Onyx Pharmaceuticals agreed to purchase Proteolix, the developer of the cancer drug carfilzomib (Kyprolis), for $276 million. Carfilzomib, which is Proteolix’s leading cancer drug, has dem­onstrated significant tumor-reduction activity in Phase 1 trials of patients with re­lapsed multiple myeloma.

Similar to Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib), car­filz­o­mib is a proteasome inhibitor that blocks the activity of these protein-destroying enzymes and induces cancer cell death. Carfilzomib is cur­rently undergoing Phase 2 trials on patients with re­lapsed multiple myeloma, for which data will be reported in late 2010. Phase 3 trials combining car­filz­o­mib with

Preliminary results from an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial indicate that carfilzomib (Kyprolis), a new proteasome inhibitor, has significant thera­peutic results in patients with re­lapsed myeloma. The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) reported the results at the Joint ECCO 15-34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress, which was held in Berlin from September 20 to 24.

Carfilzomib selectively induces cell death in cancer cells by blocking the activity of proteasomes, which are enzymes that break down proteins. Carfilzomib is similar to Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib), the first proteasome inhibitor approved for multiple myeloma treat­ment. However, car­filz­o­mib …

A new drug designed to assist in stem cell transplants will be studied in a Phase 2 clinical trial. TG-0054, created by TaiGen Biotechnology, was effective at moving stem cells from the bone marrow into the blood during the Phase 1 trial.

This drug may help patients collect enough stem cells for stem cell transplantion. Patients suffering from disorders of the blood, bone marrow, or certain cancers receive stem cells, which repopulate the depleted bone marrow with new, healthy blood cells and immune cells.

Stem cells, which are continuously renewed through cell …

On Monday, Amgen released results from its Phase 3 clinical trial that compared denosumab with Zometa (zoledronic acid) in multiple myeloma patients and advanced cancer patients whose tumors have spread to the bone. The results indicated that denosumab delayed skeletal related events in this group of cancer patients.

Bone tumors often weaken and destroy the bone surrounding the tumor, resulting in serious complications that include bone fractures, spinal cord compression, the need for radiation, and the need for bone surgery. These complications are collectively named “skeletal related events,” …