With Sanofi entering the multiple myeloma market, J&J flashes data on new rare disease
Since its 2015 approval, Darzalex has earned J&J billions as one of the most potent drugs available for multiple myeloma, a common cancer that for years had few good therapies. Now, as Sanofi enters with a similar drug, the company is edging closer to expanding its uses.
Most notably, they have been testing the drug on AL amyloidosis, a rare and potentially fatal disease in which B cells produce misshapen antibodies. These abnormal antibodies scrunch together to form clumps called amyloid (similar to the plaques implicated in Alzheimer’s but with different proteins), which can build up in a number of organs and prevent them from functioning properly. Patients live a median of 6 months to 3 years after diagnosis. There are no specifically approved therapies, but some patients also have multiple myeloma — also a B cell malignancy — and doctors have tried using drugs developed for the cancer as a treatment.
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