FDA expands use of Imbruvica to treat rare form of blood cancer

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it cleared an expanded use of Imbruvica to treat Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare form of blood cancer for which no specific pharmaceutical therapy exists. The regulator's decision, which comes in over two months ahead of its review date, represents a fourth indication for the drug, sold by Johnson & Johnson and Pharmacyclics Inc. A type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, WM was first discovered more than 70 years ago. It usually worsens slowly over time and causes abnormal blood cells, known as B lymphocytes (B-cells), to grow within the bone marrow, lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. Although WM occurs only in up to 1,500 patients in the United States each year, the approval highlights the strength of the Imbruvica franchise, Roth Capital Partner's Joseph Pantginis wrote in a note.



via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News http://ift.tt/15ZMcgA