Analyst 'would not be surprised' to see Takeda retry Iclusig in first-line CML

Positive long-term results on Iclusig (ponatinib) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have prompted a prominent biotech analyst to suggest that Japanese pharma major Takeda (TYO: 4502) might yet seek approval in the first-line setting.

This drug was one of two oncology assets picked up by Takeda in January 2017 in its $5.2 billion acquisition of Ariad Pharmaceuticals, despite Iclusig’s somewhat checkered history.

It was approved in the USA in December 2012 for resistant or intolerant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia.