AbbVie reports positive lymphocytic leukaemia results for Imbruvica

AbbVie has announced clinical trial data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of its drug Imbruvica in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).

Results from RESONATE-2, a phase III clinical trial, showed that the ibrutinib therapy was able to significantly improve progression-free and overall survival rates compared to chemotherapy in treatment-naive CLL patients aged 65 years and older.

This is the first phase III head-to-head trial in the clinical programme to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Imbruvica versus traditional chemotherapy in this patient population.

Data from this study will be used to support a future US regulatory filing for the drug in this indication.

Dr Michael Severino, executive vice-president of research and development and chief scientific officer at AbbVie, said: "The results from RESONATE-2 continue to reaffirm the clinical benefit of ibrutinib and signal its potential to treat CLL patients in earlier lines of therapy, serving as an alternative to the current standard of care."

The company also reported data from a phase I/IIb trial last week showing the effectiveness of the drug in the treatment of relapsed or refractory patients with multiple myeloma.