Celgene Corporation has proposed that ‘Pomalyst’ will be the new brand name for its drug, pomalidomide. The announcement comes ahead of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) review of the company’s application to approve pomalidomide as a new treatment for relapsed and refractory myeloma patients.
Pomalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) which is closely related to thalidomide and Revlimid®. Clinical studies conducted across the world have shown that pomalidomide in combination with low-dose dexamethasone is effective even in patients who have already had several lines of treatment including Velcade® and Revlimid.
The brand name will be confirmed if and when a positive decision has been made to approve pomalidomide as a new treatment for myeloma. An announcement by the FDA is expected in mid-February with one from the EMA later in the year.
