AbbVie announces failure of Imbruvica trial in B-cell lymphoma

On Wednesday AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) reported results from its ongoing Phase III clinical trial, DBL3001, investigating the effectiveness of Imbruvica (ibrutinib) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, revealing that the study had failed to meet its primary endpoint.

The drug, which is currently approved for eight indications across six disease areas in the USA and elsewhere, failed to show any observable improvements in outcomes when administered as a combination therapy alongside a combination of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and predisone (R-CHOP), the existing standard of care for the condition.

"Since its first US Food and Drug Administration approval in 2013, Imbruvica has redefined standard of care in many different blood cancers – several of which had little to no treatment options available to patients before," said Thorsten Graef, head of clinical development at Pharmacyclics, an Abbvie subsidiary.