Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. announced that it will be dispensing Darzalex (daratumumab) in combination with Revlimid (lenalidomide) and dexamethasone or with Velcade (bortezomib) and dexamethasone.

Darzalex was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one other treatment.

The FDA had previously approved Darzalex to treat patients who have received three prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory agent, or those who are resistant to both a PI and an immunomodulatory agent.

Darzalex is a monoclonal antibody that works with the immune system. It attaches to a protein called CD38, on the surface of many myeloma cells. Once Darzalex attaches to the CD38 protein, it helps the immune system find and kill myeloma cells. Darzalex is the first anti-CD38 in the world approved for humans.

“At Diplomat, we are focused on providing excellent care to every single patient,” said Paul Urick, Diplomat’s president. “With Darzalex, we are able to offer a treatment to our multiple myeloma patients who have tried at least one other therapy. Along the way, our oncology team of pharmacists, nurses, and care coordinators works hard to provide a consistent high level of care to support them at all times as they grapple with multiple myeloma.”

Multiple myeloma is a hematological (blood) cancer in which malignant plasma cells form in the bone marrow, producing abnormal proteins. Because plasma cells circulate widely in the body, they can affect many bones and result in compression fractures, lytic bone lesions, and related pain. According to the American Cancer Society, about 30,330 Americans will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2016.

Darzalex is manufactured by Janssen Biotech, Inc.