Celgene has announced that its Phase III trial, OPTIMISMM, has achieved its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma.
The study compared pomalidomide (Imnovid®) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade®) and low-dose dexamethasone to bortezomib and low-dose dexamethasone in myeloma patients who had received 1 – 3 prior treatments, including lenalidomide (Revlimid®). Patients receiving pomalidomide had significantly improved PFS compared to patients receiving only bortezomib and dexamethasone. The data from this trial are expected to be presented soon.
Pomalidomide is currently approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) in combination with dexamethasone for relapsed and refractory myeloma patients who have previously received both bortezomib and lenalidomide.