Pharmacyclics, J&J drug shown to improve leukemia survival

By Deena Beasley CHICAGO (Reuters) – A new drug for the most common form of leukemia in adults improves survival for patients whose disease has worsened despite standard treatment, according to late-stage study findings released on Saturday. Ibrutinib, sold by Pharmacyclics Inc and Johnson & Johnson under the brand name Imbruvica, was approved by U.S. regulators for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in February. The therapy “beat the pants off” of ofatumumab, or Arzerra, marketed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc, in the Phase 3 trial, said Dr. John Byrd, the study’s lead investigator and a professor of medicine at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, Ohio. JP Morgan analyst Cory Kasimov said the trial results, along with the fact that the drug is a pill that does not need to be combined with another therapy, could help propel sales.