Roche says Phase III trial for leukemia drug showed treatment-free survival of nearly four years

Swiss drug company Roche (SIX: ROG) said late-stage trials for its Gazyva/ Gazyvaro (obinutuzumab) plus chlorambucil to treat leukemia, showed a reduction in the risk of disease worsening or death by more than half compared to MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab) plus chlorambucil.

Dr Sandra Horning, chief medical officer and head of global product development, said: “These updated CLL11 data confirmed that Gazyva/Gazyvaro helped people with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia live significantly longer without disease worsening or death compared to MabThera/Rituxan. After a fixed course of therapy with Gazyva/Gazyvaro, people remained treatment-free for nearly four years on average. Time free from treatment is an important consideration for a disease like CLL, which occurs in older adults who frequently have other health issues.”

These new results were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting from a secondary endpoint that measured time to next treatment (TTNT) showed that, after completing the set six-month Gazyva/Gazyvaro regimen, people remained treatment-free for nearly four years on average before needing the next treatment for their cancer.