New cancer drug another coup for Astrazeneca chief executive
ASTRAZENECA has won approval for a drug that treats a rare form of cancer and will be the first new treatment option for patients in two decades when it hits the market.
The US Food and Drug Administration gave moxetumomab, which is known commercially as Lumoxiti, the green light after clinical trials showed patients responded well to the treatment.
It will be seen as another coup for Astrazeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot. His strategy since he took over in 2012 has been to pump huge amounts of money into four key areas of research, one of which is oncology, in the hope of finding breakthrough treatments that will generate money for the company and offset declining revenues from older drugs that have gone off patent.
Lumoxiti treats a rare form of cancer called hairy cell leukaemia. Patients normally respond well to existing treatments, such as chemotherapy, but tend to relapse after five to 10 years when these medicines cannot be used as the cancer has grown more resistant to them.
Hairy cell leukaemia is a slow-growing cancer in which the bone marrow overproduces abnormal white blood cells, which are called B cell lymphocytes.
Dave Fredrickson, head of Astrazeneca’s global oncology unit, said: “The FDA approval of Lumoxiti represents a significant milestone for people living with hairy cell leukaemia.”
The treatment works by binding to the leukaemia cell and injecting a bacterial poison into it, causing it to die. It belongs to a class of drugs called antibody-drug conjugates and is one of four types of cancer treatments Astrazeneca is working on.
Lumoxiti is the second haematology medicine in Astrazeneca’s portfolio to be approved in 12 months and is the fifth new medicine from its oncology pipeline to reach this milestone since Mr Soriot took over.
Shares in Astrazeneca edged up 15p to end at £56.45.