AbbVie's drug candidate for blood cancer gets 3rd Breakthrough therapy designation from US FDA

29 January 2016

US drugmaker AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) said the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for its drug candidate venetoclax in combination with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

The company said venetoclax is an inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein being developed by AbbVie in partnership with Swiss drug firm Roche (ROG: SIX) and its unit Genentech.

Michael Severino, executive vice president of R&D and chief scientific officer, AbbVie, said: "Acute myeloid leukemia is an aggressive and life- threatening cancer. Unfortunately, for many AML patients, intensive therapy is not an option, causing a high need for new, effective, and alternative treatments. This third breakthrough therapy designation for venetoclax highlights our efforts to pursue the significant and broad potential of this therapy."

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