European Commission approves Gilead's Zydelig for blood cancer

The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for US biotech major Gilead Sciences’ (Nasdaq: GILD) Zydelig (idelalisib) 150 mg tablets in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and follicular lymphoma.

Zydelig inhibits PI3K delta, a protein that is overexpressed in many B-cell malignancies and is active in the viability, proliferation and migration of these cancerous cells.

For chronic lymphocytic leukemia, it has been approved in combination with rituximab for those who have received at least one prior therapy, or as a first-line treatment in the presence of 17p deletion or TP53 mutation in patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy. In follicular lymphoma, it has been approved as a monotherapy in patients who are refractory to two prior lines of treatment.