FDA approves Xgeva (denosumab) for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with multiple myeloma.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Amgen’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Xgeva (denosumab) to expand the currently approved indication for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors to include patients with multiple myeloma.
The approval is based on data from the pivotal Phase 3 ‘482 study, the largest international multiple myeloma clinical trial ever conducted, which enrolled 1,718 patients.
“Up to 40 percent of patients remain untreated for the prevention of bone complications, and the percentage is highest among patients with renal impairment at the time of diagnosis,” said Noopur Raje, M.D., director, Center for Multiple Myeloma, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston. “Denosumab, which is not cleared through the kidneys, offers multiple myeloma patients bone protection with a convenient subcutaneous administration, providing patients with a novel treatment option.”
Xgeva is a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes RANK ligand (RANKL) — a protein essential for the formation, function, and survival of osteoclasts, which break down bone — thereby inhibiting osteoclast-mediated bone destruction.
Xgeva is currently the number one prescribed bone-targeting agent in the U.S. for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors. Additional regulatory applications for Xgeva for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with multiple myeloma are underway and have been submitted to health authorities worldwide.
(Source: Amgen Inc.)
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
