July 20, 2012WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration is approving a new blood cancer drug from Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. for patients whose disease has not responded to at least two other drugs.
Krypolis treats multiple myeloma, a form of cancer that causes tumors in the bone marrow and prevents the production of normal blood cells. Patients with the disease have low red blood cell counts and are more likely to experience infections and excessive bleeding.
The FDA approved the drug based on a study showing 23 percent of patients experienced a full or partial disappearance of their tumor after taking the drug. The effect typically lasted about 7.8 months.
About 21,700 people will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma this year and 10,710 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
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