Novartis reports positive systemic mastocytosis drug trial data

Novartis has announced new clinical trial data from a new study evaluating its new treatment for advanced systemic mastocytosis.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study showed that Novartis' new drug PKC412 demonstrated a strong overall response rate of 60 percent in patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis.

The median duration of response for all responders in the primary efficacy population was 24.1 months for this study, which represented the largest and longest-running prospective trial ever conducted for this disease.

Systemic mastocytosis is a rare disease characterised by the accumulation of abnormal mast cells in the bone marrow, liver, spleen and other organs. There is no approved treatment for the majority of patients, meaning most have a poor prognosis.

Dr Alessandro Riva, global head at Novartis Oncology development and medical affairs, said: "Novartis is proud to have developed a treatment that shows benefit for these patients, and is now working with regulatory authorities to make midostaurin available as quickly as possible."

Earlier this month, the company reported positive long-term data for its drug Revolade, showing the drug's strong safety performance in adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia.