( - New Data from Phase III Intergroupe F...)Velcade (bortezomib) for Injection Based Induction Therapy,Delivered High Post-Transplant Complete Remission Rate, a Critical,Marker for Increased Overall Survival,Health

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 02, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported that new data were presented on the comparative Phase III clinical trial evaluating a VELCADE based therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients. As induction therapy prior to stem cell transplantation (SCT), the VELCADE based therapy produced a high complete remission / complete response(1) (CR) rate of 20 percent, which led to a post SCT CR rate of 43 percent. These results were substantially stronger than those of a commonly used induction chemotherapy regimen vincristine, adriamycin and dexamethasone (VAD), which served as the comparative therapy in the trial. The data showed that the VELCADE based therapy, compared to VAD, nearly doubled the CR rate as induction therapy and provided a greater than 50 percent improvement in CR rate following SCT. Achievement of CR is the goal of SCT therapy because achievement of CR increases both progression-free and overall survival. The data were presented in conjunction with the prestigious 11th International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Kos, Greece.

"Historically, stem cell transplantations generated similar response rates regardless of the induction therapy due to the limited efficacy of these therapies. With VELCADE, we now have a powerful agent that has consistently delivered high complete remission rates during induction and has allowed physicians to mobilize stem cells successfully. These benefits have translated to post-transplantation complete remission rates that are significantly higher than what has ever been achieved before," said Professor Jean-Luc Harousseau, M.D., Hospital Hotel-Dieu. "We know that high complete remission rates following transplantation lead to longer progression-free survival and overall survival. These data position VELCA
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