Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
[Operator Instructions]. We'll go first to Geoffrey Meacham at J.P. Morgan.
Chris Demetropolis - JPMorgan Chase & Co
Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Actually, this is Chris Demetropolis for Jeff. Just wondering if you could discuss what regimens you're seeing VELCADE usage in the front line setting?
Kyle Kuvalanka
Chris, thanks for the question. We're going to have Christophe Bianchi answer the question.
Christophe Bianchi
Thank you for the question. Effectively VELCADE has been used in the front line setting as we indicated in about 10% of the patients. We do not solicit this business. It is generated by interest of doctors in our product and direct outcomes they have seen so far. So we have got a mixed bag of utilization going from single agent medication. We have great data configuration that came in the relapse setting and a lot of doctors are transferring this data to the front line setting as well. In addition to that, we see some utilization of VELCADE in combinations with other active treatment such as dexamethasone.
Chris Demetropolis - JPMorgan Chase & Co
Okay. And in the relapse setting, are you seeing just market share gains, or are you also seeing growth of the overall market with the entrance of a new competitor?
Christophe Bianchi
Well, number one, I think we have been very pleased with the results of VELCADE. We have got 29.8 months survival benefit with VELCADE, which is unmatched by any product on the marketplace. So we are very pleased with those results. For us the combination with multiple myeloma and we are getting growth in effectively tackling this disease. We are seeing some expansion of our market share in the front line setting. As we indicated earlier no market share in front line setting is higher than 50%, and we are also seeing extension of direct treatment which is the results of our campaign and the results of our underlining of the data in APEX indicating the longer the patients get treated, the better the management of their disease. We're seeing doctors utilizing the drugs earlier in more patients and for a longer duration of treatment, all of that because we've got an unmatched survival benefit of about 30 months.
Deborah Dunsire - President, CEO
If I can just also add to that, Chris, I think over time we will see market expansion as we see the lines of therapy potentially increasing for patients, as patients may get more lines of therapy with more available therapies. And I think over time, the survival advantage will translate into potentially, we all hope, a higher prevalence of patients, because they're living longer. The ultimate goal is to cure, but until we get there, if we can have patients survive longer, that's a tremendous advantage. But I don't know that we can yet say that we're seeing that market expansion.
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