FDA staff focus on Onyx cancer drug’s side effects

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. drug reviewers said the serious heart, lung and liver side effects of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc’s carfilzomib drug may outweigh the experimental drug’s benefits for patients with a type of blood cancer. The Food and Drug Administration staff said about 22 percent of people taking the drug during a key clinical trial responded to the medicine, and many had severe side effects, meaning carfilzomib may not be better than older treatments for multiple myeloma. …