US drugmaker AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) said the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for its drug candidate venetoclax in combination with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The company said venetoclax is an inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein being developed by AbbVie in partnership with Swiss drug firm Roche (ROG: SIX) and its unit Genentech.
Michael Severino, executive vice president of R&D and chief scientific officer, AbbVie, said: "Acute myeloid leukemia is an aggressive and life- threatening cancer. Unfortunately, for many AML patients, intensive therapy is not an option, causing a high need for new, effective, and alternative treatments. This third breakthrough therapy designation for venetoclax highlights our efforts to pursue the significant and broad potential of this therapy."
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
7 day trial access
Become a subscriber
Or £77 per month
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze