Spectrum upbeat on lymphoma drug Zevalin study

24 January 2012

US biotech firm Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: SPPI) yesterday announced results of a randomized study comparing Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan) injection for intravenous use plus high-dose BEAM chemotherapy versus BEAM chemotherapy alone, published online by CANCER, the Journal of the American Cancer Society.

The news on Zevalin, which is already approved in the USA for certain forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, pushed Spectrum’s shares up 2.65 to $15.62 in premarketing trading yesterday. If approved for the patients enrolled in the latest study, Zevalin would be used to prepare patients for bone marrow transfer.

The company stated: “Based on the exciting and promising results from this study, Spectrum’s clinical development program for Zevalin will be expanded to include support for a larger study using Z-BEAM for ASCT.” The current clinical program includes a Phase III study in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, and a trial to evaluate Zevalin in previously untreated follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients.

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