The recent 57th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in Orlando, Florida, announced the results from several drug trials, including one involving acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy Blincyto (blinatumomab), a product of California-based pharmaceutical corporation Amgen.
Amgen officials presented data from three Phase II Blincyto trials at the meeting. Test subjects for the trials were adults living with ALL, which is a rare cancer of the blood and bone marrow that progresses quickly.
On average, those diagnosed with ALL survive three to five months. Presently, there are no approved standard treatments for the disease.
"A key goal in the treatment of blood cancers is to prevent relapse from occurring," Dr. Sean Harper, Amgen's executive vice president of research and development, said. "Achieving a complete minimal residual disease, or MRD response, is important because having no detectable MRD places ALL patients at a lower risk for relapse when compared to patients with persistent or recurrent MRD. The data presented are highly encouraging because they support the potential of Blincyto in a broader spectrum of ALL patients, including those at an earlier stage of disease."
Patients treated with Blincyto in the trial survived an average of 18.9 months. Trails are ongoing.
More information about Blincyto and the trial can be found online at Amgen's website, www.amgen.com.
