FDA OKs Onyx's Kyprolis for multiple myeloma WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. drug regulators approved Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc's Kyprolis for people with multiple myeloma who have failed to successfully treat their blood cancer with other medicines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the intravenous drug, known generically as carfilzomib, was approved for treating multiple myeloma in people who have tried at least two other medicines, including Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd's Velcade and an immunomodulatory drug. Onyx shares were up 5.2 percent to $71.95 in morning trade. Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc, a small biotech firm that contributed to Kyprolis and would receive royalties from its sales, were up 1.8 percent at $17.85. Multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that affects the plasma cells in bone marrow, is relatively rare in the United States but often deadly. In 2012, about 21,700 new cases of multiple myeloma will be diagnosed in the United States, and about 10,710 people will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Analysts expect the multiple myeloma market to reach $5.4 billion by 2016, with Kyprolis garnering about $570 million of that, according to Thomson Reuters forecasts. Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace