According to a late stage study, Johnson & Johnson's and AbbVie's Imbruvica significantly reduced the risk of death and disease progression compared with chemotherapy in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
In the trial of 269 patients aged 65 and older with CLL, Imbruvica decreased risk of death by 85 percent compared with the chemotherapy chlorambucil.
J&J has submitted data from this study with the goal of gaining FDA-approval for Imbruvica as an initial treatment for the slow progressing blood cancer.
In February 2014, Johnson & Johnson and Pharmacyclics (acquired by AbbVie in May 2015) received accelerated approval for Imbruvica to treat CLL based on its effect on overall response rate.
Read the Reuters release
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