Celgene Corporation reported yesterday that a Phase 3 clinical trial of Revlimid (lenalidomide) in first-line multiple myeloma patients has produced overwhelmingly positive results. The outcome of the trial, known as MM-015, suggests that Revlimid taken in combination with melphalan (Alkeran) and prednisone, followed by continuous Revlimid, produces significant improvement in progression-free survival.

While Revlimid is already prescribed as a front-line drug for multiple myeloma, it is approved for use only in patients for whom other treatments have failed. In the United States, it is also used off-label,…

Lenalidomide (initially known as CC-5013 and marketed as Revlimid by Celgene) is a derivative of thalidomide introduced in 2004. It was initially intended as a treatment for multiple myeloma, for which thalidomide is an accepted therapeutic modality, but has also shown efficacy in the hematological disorders known as the myelodysplastic syndromes. [...]

Thalidomide is a sedative-hypnotic, and multiple myeloma medication. The drug is a potent teratogen in rats, rabbits, and primates including humans: this means that severe birth defects may result if the drug is taken during pregnancy. [...]