Improved overall survival in most common leukemia treated with Roche's MabThera

The addition of Swiss drug major Roche's MabThera (rituximab) to chemotherapy in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) significantly improves chances of survival, according to data presented today at the AmericanSociety of Hematology annual meeting in New Orleans. This is the first time that any treatment for CLL, the most common leukemia in the UK, has been shown to extend life in a randomized clinical trial.

Sales of MabThera, used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis, increased 2.7% to 1.51 billion Swiss francs ($1.49 billion) in the third quarter of 2009, lagging analyst estimates of 1.61 billion francs. However, Roche's taking full control of its part-owned US subsidiary Genentech, which developed the drug, will boost income from this best-selling cancer therapy, also known as Rituxan.

The same trial presented at the meeting showed that the addition of rituximab to chemotherapy doubles the number of patients achieving complete remission and lengthens the period of time before the disease returns by more than 1.5 years, compared to chemotherapy alone.