On 17 October 2019, the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA’s) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending a change to the terms of the marketing authorisation for the medicinal product daratumumab (Darzalex).
The marketing authorisation holder for this medicinal product is Janssen-Cilag International NV.
The CHMP adopted an extension to the existing indications for Darzalex as follows (new text in bold):
- in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone or with bortezomib, melphalan and prednisone for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant.
- in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, or bortezomib and dexamethasone, for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy.
- as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, whose prior therapy included a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent and who have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy.
Detailed recommendations for the use of this product will be described in the updated summary of product characteristics, which will be published in the revised European public assessment report, and will be available in all official European Union languages after a decision on this change to the marketing authorisation has been granted by the European Commission.
Daratumumab had an accelerated assessment. This means that it is a medicine of major interest for public health, so its timeframe for review was 150 evaluation days rather than 210. This medicine is under additional monitoring. It was designated an orphan medicine. This means that it was developed for use against a rare, life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition or, for economic reasons, it would be unlikely to have been developed without incentives.