• Second part of the Phase 3 CASSI­O­PEIA study of dara­tu­mu­mab as main­te­nance treat­ment for patients with newly diag­nosed mul­ti­ple myeloma eli­gible for au­tol­o­gous stem cell trans­plant met the pri­mary end­point of pro­gres­sion-free sur­vival at a pre-planned interim analysis
• Independent Data Mon­i­tor­ing Com­mit­tee rec­om­mends unblinding the study re­sults
• Based on the data, Janssen plans to discuss the po­ten­tial for a regu­la­tory sub­mission with health author­i­ties

Copenhagen, Denmark (Press Release) – Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) an­nounced to­day pos­i­tive top­line re­sults from the sec­ond part of the Phase 3 CASSI­O­PEIA (MMY3006) study of dara­tu­mu­mab mono­therapy as main­te­nance treat­ment versus observation (no treat­ment) for patients with newly diag­nosed mul­ti­ple myeloma eli­gible for au­tol­o­gous stem cell trans­plant (ASCT). The sec­ond part of the study, which is being con­ducted by the French Intergroupe Francophone du Myelome (IFM) in col­lab­o­ration with the Dutch-Belgian Cooperative Trial Group for He­ma­tol­ogy On­col­ogy (HOVON) and …

• Results Demonstrated Statistically Significant Improvement in Progression-Free Survival
• Data to be Submitted for Presentation at an Upcoming Medical Meeting

Cambridge, MA and Osaka, Japan (Press Release) – Takeda Pharma­ceu­tical Com­pany Limited (TSE: 4502/NYSE: TAK) ("Takeda") today announced the ran­dom­ized, Phase 3 TOURMALINE-MM4 study met its pri­mary end­point of pro­gres­sion free sur­vival (PFS). The trial eval­u­ated the effect of single-agent oral NIN­LARO™ (ixazomib) as a first line main­te­nance ther­apy versus placebo in adult patients diag­nosed with multiple myeloma not treated with stem cell trans­plan­ta­tion. TOURMALINE-MM4 is the first industry sponsored Phase 3 trial to explore the concept of “switch” main­te­nance, the use of med­i­cines …

July 22 marked the third anniversary of my au­tol­o­gous (own) stem cell trans­plant. Honestly, although the treat­ment went well, when I was sent home, three-years in the future seemed like a very long time away. I wouldn't have been surprised if a relapse had arrived before this day.

Today, how­ever, I'm still enjoying a com­plete response and rel­a­tive­ly good health with remarkably few side effects. My perspective on the future also is much brighter, and three more years of good health doesn't seem like a stretch anymore.

Much of my current …

A new study by U.S. researchers provides useful insights into the out­comes newly diag­nosed multiple myeloma patients can ex­pec­t from a common sequence of initial treat­ments.

Drawing on data for more than 240 patients treated between 2010 and 2017, the authors of the new study in­ves­ti­gate treat­ment responses and survival out­comes for newly diag­nosed myeloma patients who under­went initial treat­ment with Revlimid (lena­lido­mide), Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib), and dexa­meth­a­sone, followed soon thereafter with an au­tol­o­gous (own) stem cell trans­plant.

More than two thirds of the patients in the study also under­went either main­te­nance or …

As I enter my third year of main­te­nance ther­apy after experiencing very little change in my health the past couple years, I sometimes feel as though I’m just “treading water.”

While it's often con­sidered derogatory to say that someone is treading water, being able to swim in that way is actually a very im­por­tant safety skill. A swimmer isn’t going to make any forward progress treading water, but they’re going to keep their head above water (i.e., not drown) long enough to catch their breath so they can con­tinue a longer …

Cambridge, MA and Osaka, Japan (Press Release) – Takeda Pharma­ceu­tical Company Limited (TSE: 4502) today announced that the ran­dom­ized, Phase 3 TOURMALINE-MM3 study met its pri­mary end­point, demonstrating single-agent oral NINLARO® (ixazomib) as a main­te­nance ther­apy resulted in a statistically sig­nif­i­cant im­prove­ment in pro­gres­sion-free survival (PFS) versus placebo. The trial eval­u­ated the effect of NINLARO as a main­te­nance ther­apy in adult patients diag­nosed with multiple myeloma who responded to high-dose ther­apy (HDT) and au­tol­o­gous stem cell trans­plant (ASCT). Takeda plans to submit data from the trial to regu­la­tory agencies around the world. NINLARO …

Several months after I had my stem cell transplant, my doctor suggested that it would be a good idea to begin maintenance treatment with Rev­limid (lena­lido­mide). He believed that main­te­nance was likely to lead to longer pro­gres­sion-free survival. I remember him saying that, in his experience, main­te­nance therapy often put the myeloma into hiber­nation. That sounded good to me – long-term hiber­nation, I hope.

He also explained to my husband Graham and me that he thought that the main­te­nance therapy might lead to longer over­all survival. At the same time, he said that …