Novartis drugs ‘will boost leukaemia therapy sales’

The delivery of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), including Novartis’s Gleevec (imatinib) and its forthcoming Tasigna (nilotinib) compound, will result in an increase of 12 per cent in sales over the next decade in the acute lymphoblastic leukaemia sector, it has been predicted.

Decision Resources has published a Pharmacor report regarding the condition, noting that the unpredictable age of onset of the disease, in addition to other variable characteristics, results in significant challenges for pharmaceuticals developers.

Clair Gricks, an analyst at Decision Resources, said: “Clinical data is emerging for second-generation TKIs targeted to the Philadelphia chromosome, an abnormality present in about 30 per cent of adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients.”

She added that while current research has only investigated regarding the relapse stage of the disease, it is believed by experts that second-generation TKIs may be able to improve results in first-line settings.

Furthermore, while at present it is felt that the pharmaceutical industry does not adequately meet the needs of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, it is thought that monoclonal antibodies may have positive effects on patients in first-line therapy.

In June, Novartis published positive clinical trial data showing that administration of Tasigna to patients that had shown resistance or intolerance to Glivec resulted in improvements in 92 per cent of cases.