AbbVie and Roche's venetoclax gets second Breakthrough designation

20 January 2016

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for venetoclax in combination with rituximab for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (R/R CLL).

Venetoclax is an inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein being developed by AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) in partnership with Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) and its subsidiary Genentech. Stock broker Cowen & Co has predicted that the drug, if approved, could capture annual sales of $2 billion by 2020.

The designation is supported by an investigational study of venetoclax in combination with rituximab in patients with R/R CLL. Rituximab is indicated in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for the treatment of patients with previously untreated and previously treated CD20-positive CLL. Rituximab in combination with the investigational agent venetoclax is not approved for the treatment of R/R CLL.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK