Biogen gets US approval for lymphoma treatment

Biogen with its partner Genetech have receive approval for Rituxan (rituximab) treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (DLBCL).

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the go ahead for the treatment in combination with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) or other anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens.

Dr Sandra Horning, chair of the lymphoma group for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, said: “Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma can be fatal within as little as six months to two years without aggressive treatment.

“With this approval, Rituxan in combination with chemotherapy becomes the first FDA-approved treatment to improve survival for patients with this type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma since the introduction of the CHOP chemotherapeutic regimen more than 25 years ago.”

Genentech senior vice chief medical officer Dr said Hal Barron added: “The approval of this new indication underscores our continued commitment to help advance the treatment of B-cell malignancies.

“This approval is the result of an extraordinary collaboration between Genentech and Biogen Idec, and among clinical investigators, the FDA, and most importantly, the patients who participated in the clinical trials.”

DLBCL is the most common type of aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), which affects half of patients.

Rituxan has already been approved by the FDA as a single agent for use in relapsed or refractory, low-grade or follicular, CD20-positive, B-cell NHL.

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