The FDA has approved Bristol-Myers Squibb's Empliciti to treat multiple myeloma, to be used in combination with two other FDA-approved treatments, dexamethasone and Celgene's Revlimid.
In Empliciti's 646-participant clinical trial, patients treated with the three-drug cocktail took longer to relapse and had a higher chance of tumor shrinkage than those treated with the traditional two-drug therapy.
"Empliciti represents a fundamentally different approach of directly activating the immune system in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, delivering improved outcomes for those in need," a BMS spokeswoman told Business Insider.
Bristol-Myers and AbbVie are codeveloping Empliciti, which will be marketed under the BMS name.
The monthly cost of Empliciti for biweekly doses is about $10,000. Including the two-month induction period, the first-year cost of the drug is approximately $142,000.
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