Novartis Rare Blood Cancer Drug Extends Lives Of Patients

Novartis AG, which is based out of Switzerland, has announced that its investigational blood cancer drug Jakavi (ruxolitinib) has helped to extend the lives of patients in a late stage study. Ruxolitinib was designed to treat patients suffering from polycythemia vera, which is an incurable blood cancer. The condition causes an overproduction of blood cells in the patients’ bone marrow, which can lead to a number of serious complications. Among those complications are cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes.

Novartis noted that the company’s ruxolitinib drug was successful at improving hematocrit control in the body without the need for phlebotomy, which removes blood from the patient’s body in order to lower the concentration of red blood cells. Patients in the study also saw reduced spleen sizes and fewer polycythemia vera symptoms.

Srdan Verstovsek, a medical oncologist and professor in the Department of Leukemia at the University of Texas, commented on the results of the ruxolitinib trial. “"In the RESPONSE trial, patients treated with ruxolitinib showed better disease control, including controlled hematocrit levels without the need for phlebotomy, reduced spleen size and improved symptom management compared to current therapies,” he said.

The late-stage ruxolitinib trial saw 77 percent of patients treated with the drug achieve one or both endpoints of improved hematocrit control and spleen size reduction. Patients who were treated with the current therapies for polycythemia vera saw only a 20 percent achievement of said endpoints. In addition, about 50 percent of patients treated with ruxolitinib saw a reduction in debilitating symptoms, compared with only 5 percent of patients treated with current therapies for the condition. There were 222 patients enrolled in the study at 109 sites around the world. Based on the data from the late-stage trial, Novartis is set to make global regulatory filings for the drug’s approval.