Summary
Relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients have a particularly poor prognosis and the development of new drugs is urgently needed. Pomalidomide, a third-generation immunomodulatory drug with a pleiotropic activity, was approved in 2013 by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, in association with low dose dexamethasone in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, in patients who received at least two prior therapies, including bortezomib and lenalidomide and demonstrated progression on the last therapy. In the phase III MM-003 study, pomalidomide associated with low dose dexamethasone was superior to high dose dexamethasone in these patients, with a manageable safety and tolerability profile. This paper will review the available data concerning the mechanisms of action, the efficacy in clinical studies and the safety of this very promising new drug.
(BELG J HEMATOL 2014;5(4):137–42)
