Pharmacyclics and Roche research Imbruvica and Gazyva

17 October 2014

USA-based biopharma company Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq: PCYC) has entered into a master clinical drug supply agreement with Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of Imbruvica (ibrutinib) in combination with Gazyva (obinutuzumab).

The agreement will look at Imbruvica, an oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, with Gazyva, a new CD20-directed antibody that attacks targeted cells both directly and together with the body's immune system, in patients with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (CLL/SLL).

Initially, a Phase III study will be conducted by Pharmacyclics in CLL/SLL. Plans to evaluate the combination for NHL currently are in development. Imbruvica is being jointly developed and commercialized by Pharmacyclics and Janssen Biotech, a Europe-based subsidiary of US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

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