FRIDAY, July 20, 2012 (HealthDay News) -- Kyprolis (carfilzomib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat certain people with multiple myeloma who have already been given at least two prior therapies.
Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer that arises from blood plasma, usually starting in the bone marrow, the agency said in a news release. More than 21,000 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with the disease this year, and about 10,700 will die from it, the American Cancer Society estimates.
Kyprolis has been approved for people treated previously with the anti-cancer drug bortezomib, and an immunomodulatory therapy such as thalidomide.
The most common side effects observed during clinical testing of Kyprolis included fatigue, low blood cell counts, low platelet counts, diarrhea and fever. More serious but less common adverse reactions included heart failure and shortness of breath, the FDA said.
Kyprolis is marketed by San Francisco-based Onyx Pharmaceuticals.
More information
Medline Plus has more about multiple myeloma.
