Diplomat Pharmacy to dispense new multiple myeloma treatment

 

 

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Pharmacy announced Wednesday that the recently approved Farydak (panobinostat) (for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma) will be available through Diplomat.

 

"Farydak offers a focused treatment to patients who have tried other therapies," stated Gary Kadlec, president of Diplomat. "We are excited to offer it to patients who need further support, to offer another line of defense and a new line of hope. We care deeply about our patients, and we're ready with our high-touch model to support them."

 

"Farydak represents an exciting agent with a new mechanism of action that is part of a promising class of drugs in this setting,” said Paul Richardson, Clinical Program Leader and Director of Clinical Research, Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “Importantly, Farydak has been shown to improve progression-free survival in relapsed multiple myeloma patients who have received at least two prior regimens, including bortezomib and an IMiD, which is an area of particular unmet medical need.”

 

The drug is now a treatment option for patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior regimens, including bortezomib and an immunomodulatory agent. Farydak is indicated for use with bortezomib and dexamethasone.

 

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow, producing abnormal proteins. According to the National Cancer Institute, each year about 21,700 Americans are diagnosed with multiple myeloma and 10,710 die from the disease. Farydak works by inhibiting the activity of specific enzymes known as histone deacetylases. This mechanism may slow the over-development of plasma cells in multiple myeloma patients or cause these dangerous cells to die.