Novartis' multiple myeloma drug Farydak (panobinostat), an oral histone-deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, gained an accelerated approval in February after the US Food and Drug Administration recommended narrowing the indication to make the benefit-risk profile more attractive. In November 2014, the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee had recommended not approving this epigenetic-targeted therapeutic in the broad population of relapsed multiple myeloma patients owing to the drug's toxicities. Novartis submitted a subgroup analysis of 193 patients who had received at least two prior treatments. Participants received either Farydak combined with Takeda's Velcade (bortezomib) and dexamethasone, or Velcade and dexamethasone alone. Results showed that the Farydak combination delayed disease progression for about 11 months compared with 6 months for those receiving Velcade and dexamethasone alone.