Anders Österborg, MD, PhD from the Karolinska Hospital & Institute, Stockholm in Sweden gives an overview of the data presented by his group at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2015 Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.
The first real-world data on ibrutinib in 97 patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), demonstrated that the overall efficacy of this drug was in line with the results of the clinical trials that preceded this study. The progression-free survival (PFS) data was also in line with the clinical trials results.
An analysis of historical data from the period between 2002-2013 showed that CLL therapy did not improve much during that time, despite the release of new agents.
Another set of data on a ROR1 inhibitor, showed that it was effective in vitro. ROR1 is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that is expressed by CLL and other tumors. The group hopes that this drug candidate can be taken forward to a Phase I clinical trial.