CHMP recommends Farydak (panobinostat) to treat multiple myeloma - Novartis

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion for Farydak (panobinostat, (previously known as LBH589) capsules from Novartis, in combination with bortezomib (Velcade) and dexamethasone, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior regimens including bortezomib and an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD). If approved in the EU, panobinostat will be first in its class of anticancer agents -histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors - available to these patients.

The CHMP recommendation is based on efficacy and safety data in a subgroup analysis of 147 patients who had received at least two prior regimens, including bortezomib and an IMiD, during the Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter global registration trial, called PANORAMA-1 (PANobinostat ORAl in Multiple MyelomA), evaluating panobinostat in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone against bortezomib and dexamethasone alone in patients with relapsed and/or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The trial found that the median progression-free survival (PFS) benefit increased in panobinostat patients who had received prior treatment with both bortezomib and an IMiD (12.5 months; n=73), as compared to the placebo arm (4.7 months; n=74) (hazard ratio=0.47 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31, 0.72]).