FDA Approval Summary: Daratumumab for Treatment of Multiple Myeloma After One Prior Therapy

On November 21, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted regular approval to daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, or bortezomib and dexamethasone, for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy. Approval was based on two randomized, open-label trials in which daratumumab was added to these backbone therapies. The MMY3003 trial demonstrated substantial improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) when daratumumab was added to lenalidomide and dexamethasone compared with lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone. The estimated median PFS had not been reached in the daratumumab arm and was 18.4 months in the control arm (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27-0.52; p<.0001), representing a 63% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death. Similar results were observed in the MMY3004 trial comparing the combination of daratumumab, bortezomib, and dexamethasone with bortezomib and dexamethasone. The estimated median PFS was not reached in the daratumumab arm and was 7.2 months in the control arm (HR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.28-0.53; p<.0001), representing a 61% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death. The most frequently reported adverse reactions (greater than or equal to 20%) in MMY3003 were infusion reactions, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, pyrexia, upper respiratory tract infection, muscle spasm, cough, and dyspnea. The most frequently reported adverse reactions (greater than or equal to 20%) in MMY3004 were infusion reactions, diarrhea, peripheral edema, upper respiratory tract infection, and peripheral sensory neuropathy. Neutropenia and thrombocytopenia have been added to the Warnings and Precautions of the drug label.