JnJ gets USFDA nod for Darzalex Faspro-based quadruplet regimen for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are transplant-eligible

This approval is supported by data from the Phase 3 PERSEUS study evaluating DARZALEX FASPRO in a regimen that included D-VRd induction and consolidation therapy compared to bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (VRd) during induction and consolidation in patients with NDMM eligible for ASCT. Following consolidation, patients received an investigational treatment regimen for maintenance that included DARZALEX FASPRO in combination with lenalidomide or lenalidomide alone.

“Multiple myeloma has a highly varied clinical course among patients and in each individual patient, and there is a continued need for innovation and therapies that employ different targets and combinations to provide patients with treatment options at diagnosis and throughout the course of their disease,” said Amrita Y. Krishnan, M.D., Professor and Director of the Judy and Bernard Briskin Multiple Myeloma Center, City of Hope. “The efficacy data supporting this new quadruplet regimen, combined with its established safety and tolerability profile, provide compelling evidence that adding D-VRd upon initial diagnosis as compared to VRd can deepen responses and prolong remissions in the context of autologous stem cell transplantation.”

Findings from the PERSEUS study demonstrated a significant improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), with D-VRd reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 60 percent compared to VRd (HR [95% CI]: 0.40 [0.29, 0.57]; p-value < 0.0001). Treatment with D-VRd induction and consolidation resulted in deeper responses at the end of consolidation compared to VRd: minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity rates of 57.5 percent vs. 32.5 percent, and MRD-negativity rates in patients with complete response (CR) or better of 76.6 percent vs. 58.5 percent, respectively.

“This latest indication for DARZALEX FASPRO-based quadruplet therapy demonstrated a clinically significant reduction in disease progression or death during first-line treatment when patients are likely to experience their deepest responses,” said Jordan Schecter, M.D., Vice President, Disease Area Leader, Multiple Myeloma, Johnson & Johnson. “The approval embodies our commitment to setting new standards of care for patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma who are transplant eligible.”

The overall safety profile of D-VRd was consistent with the known safety profiles for DARZALEX FASPRO and VRd. 

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