ASH: Positive two-year data for Yescarta in some patients with lymphoma

Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) company Kite Pharma released positive two-year efficacy and safety data from the pivotal ZUMA-1 trial of Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma.

With a minimum follow-up of two years after a single infusion of Yescarta (median follow up of 27.1 months), 39% of patients were in an ongoing response. This updated analysis with at least 24 months of follow-up was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology and simultaneously published in The Lancet Oncology.

In October 2017, Yescarta became the first chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell therapy to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), high grade B-cell lymphoma and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma.