The management of multiple myeloma has grown increasingly crowded in recent years, with dramatic implications for patient benefit. One leader in this space is Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Recent approvals and trial data suggest that it may have a potential blockbuster on its hands for the management of relapsed disease, and this agent, daratumumab, is the focus of my article today.
JNJ in myeloma, an early pioneer in targeted therapy
Myeloma treatment was forever changed with the introduction of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (Velcade) in 2003. JNJ is a partner in the original development and sale of bortezomib, which gives it 50% of the sales in Japan as well as 77% of the sales in Europe. Takeda takes 100% of the sales in the US. Still, JNJ sees annual worldwide revenue of over $2.5 billion dollars from Velcade alone.
However, the Velcade patent will expire in 2017, which has left Takeda to come up with an heir apparent in the proteasome inhibitor space, as I have detailed in a previous article.
