GlaxoSmithKline receives EU approval for leukaemia drug

GlaxoSmithKline has been granted an approval in Europe for Arzerra, its new treatment for refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

The European Commission has issued a conditional marketing authorisation for the drug, which has been developed in collaboration with oncology-focused biotechnology company Genmab.

Arzerra is the commercial brand name for the compound ofatumumab, which has been developed as an alternative to fludarabine and alemtuzumab, the current standard therapies used in treating the illness.

It is indicated for use among patients who have previously been shown to be unresponsive to either fludarabine or alemtuzumab.

This comes after GlaxoSmithKline earlier this month entered into a new collaboration with Isis Pharmaceuticals to develop new drugs using the latter company’s antisense drug discovery platform.

It is hoped that the use of this protein-inhibiting technology will yield treatment options for rare and infectious diseases, with Isis having already used the platform to develop a potentially promising new hypercholesterolemia therapy.