( - Data Presented at the 11th Internatio...)The International Myeloma Foundation Says Data Reported at a Global,Medical Meeting in Greece Demonstrates Improved Survival for a Wide,Range of Myeloma Patients,Health

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., and KOS, Greece, June 29, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) -- supporting research and providing education, advocacy and support for myeloma patients, families, researchers and physicians -- today said that updated statistics reported at the 11th International Myeloma Workshop in Greece demonstrate improved survival for a wide range of myeloma patients. Among the findings, in patients who had relapsed after one or more previous treatments:

    -- REVLIMID(R) (lenalidomide) plus the steroid dexamethasone showed an

       unprecedented median survival of nearly three years (35 months) for

       patients previously treated with multiple myeloma in updated data

       pooled from two large randomized controlled Phase III trials evaluating

       more than 700 patients from nearly 100 clinical sites worldwide.


    -- VELCADE(R) (bortezomib), combined with cyclophosphamide and prednisone

       in an open label Phase II trial evaluating 13 patients demonstrated an

       overall response rate of 93 percent. At one year, 100 percent of

       patients were alive.


    -- And combining VELCADE plus REVLIMID (with a steroid) showed a response

       rate of 68 percent in a pilot study of heavily pretreated patients.

"It was 15 years ago this month that my husband Brian Novis lost his battle with myeloma, and the progress since that time is truly remarkable," said Susie Novis, president and co-founder of the IMF. "Brian was diagnosed when he was just 33 years old and lived only four years past his diagnosis. Today we have multiple options for treatment, and for many patients survival is being measured in years, not months, with an excellent quality of life."

The International Myeloma Workshop brings together myeloma experts from all over the world to review the lates
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