Celgene is one step closer to getting its cancer drug Revlimid widely adopted as a maintenance treatment for multiple myeloma. Initial results from a new trial showed that it delayed disease progression in patients who had had stem cell transplants, Reuters reports. Currently the drug is FDA-approved for use in combination with dexamethasone, in patients who have already failed on another treatment.
This new data comes on the heels of another study that showed patients did better when they used Revlimid on top of two other commonly used drugs--melphalan and prednisone--and then continued to use Revlimid after dropping the other two.
If Celgene can accumulate enough data to support Revlimid as a maintenance treatment--and can get Revlimid approved as a first-line treatment--it could see sales more than double from $1.7 billion this year to $3.6 billion by 2013, analysts told Reuters. Full results from the new study will be reported next year.
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