Progress for Novartis in development of hematology drug

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted Novartis (NOV: VX) Priority Review designation for a new use of Promacta (eltrombopag), an oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist marketed outside the USA as Revolade.

The Swiss pharma giant wants to expand the label for the drug to include the first-line treatment of severe aplastic anemia (SAA), in combination with standard immunosuppressive therapy.

SAA is a serious and rare blood disorder with up to 1,000 new diagnoses in the USA annually.