Amgen reports positive
preliminary results on leukemia drug
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[July 17, 2015]
(Reuters) - Amgen Inc on Thursday
said some patients with a deadly form of leukemia experienced complete
remission after being treated with its Blincyto drug in a midstage
clinical trial, results that could eventually lead to an expanded
approval of the pricy cancer medicine.
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While providing few details, the world's largest biotechnology
company said the drug, which helps the immune system to fight
cancer, induced complete remission or complete remission with
partial hematological recovery in a "clinically meaningful number of
patients" with relapsed or refractory Philadelphia
chromosome-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(ALL).
Complete remission means no sign of cancer and return of normal
blood cell counts. Complete remission with partial hematological
recovery signifies that the cancer appears to be gone, but blood
cell counts are not yet back to normal healthy levels.
Blincyto was approved in December for the Philadelphia
chromosome-negative form of relapsed ALL.
At about $178,000 for two courses of treatment, Blincyto is one of
the world's most expensive cancer treatments.
The company plans to present more detailed results from the trial at
a future medical meeting.
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(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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