Zolinza(Merck Inc.) success in Multiple Myeloma trial

A Phase III study investigating Zolinza (vorinostat) from Merck Inc., in combination with bortezomib, in patients with progressive Multiple Myeloma has met its primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with relapsed and/or refractory forms of the disease.The Phase III results from VANTAGE 088 study were presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).The observed median Progression Free Survival (PFS) was 7.6 months in the Zolinza and bortezomib arm, and 6.8 months in the bortezomib arm. In addition to the improvement in PFS, significant improvement in overall response rate was also observed in the combination arm (Zolinza and bortezomib, 56 percent; bortezomib and placebo, 41 percent; p<0.0001). the duration of response was 8.5 months in the combination arm and 8.4 months in the control arm. a trend in favor of overall survival was observed in the zolinza and bortezomib arm but the difference was not statistically significant.>