The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Farydak (panobinostat) for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma is a form of blood cancer that arises from plasma cells, a type of white blood cell, found in bone marrow. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 21,700 Americans are diagnosed with multiple myeloma and 10,710 die from the disease annually.

Primarily affecting older adults, multiple myeloma causes plasma cells to rapidly multiply and crowd out other healthy blood cells from the bone marrow. When the bone marrow has too many plasma cells, the cells may move to other parts of the body, which can weaken the body’s immune system, lead to anemia and cause other bone and kidney problems.

Farydak works by inhibiting the activity of enzymes, known as histone deacetylases (HDACs). This process may slow the over-development of plasma cells in multiple myeloma patients or cause these dangerous cells to die.

Farydak is the first HDAC inhibitor approved to treat multiple myeloma. It is intended for patients who have received at least two prior standard therapies, including bortezomib and an immunomodulatory agent. Farydak is to be used in combination with bortezomib, a type of chemotherapy, and dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory medication.

For more information, go to: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm435296.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery