Five new drugs for myelodysplastic syndromes set to launch by 2018

Through 2018, five new drugs will launch for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), three of which are expected to offer much-needed second-line therapeutic options in the hypomethylating agent (HMA)-refractory higher-risk MDS population, according to a new report from health care advisory firm Decision Resources.

Currently, there is only one curative treatment for MDS - allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). However, old age and poor general performance status classifies approximately 75% of patients as ineligible for this treatment.

Between 2004 and 2006, the US MDS market expanded when the first drug therapy options were approved for the indication - azacitidine (Celgene’s Vidaza), lenalidomide (Celgene’s Revlimid) and decitabine (Eisai/MGI Pharma’s Dacogen). No new therapies have been approved in the USA for MDS since 2006; only azacitidine has been approved for MDS in Europe, although experts believe an EU approval for lenalidomide is imminent.