J&J says blood cancer drug improves progression-free survival in patients

J&J says blood cancer drug improves progression-free survival in patients

Jan 27 (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Friday an interim analysis showed its drug Carvykti met the main goal of improving progression-free survival in patients with a type of blood cancer in a late-stage study.

The company is testing Carvykti in multiple myeloma patients, with a history of relapse, who have stopped responding to existing treatment and have received one to three prior therapies.

Carvykti, developed by J&J and its China-focused partner Legend Biotech Corp (LEGN.O), was approved by the U.S. health regulator last year based on an early-to mid-stage study to treat relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients who had received four or more prior lines of therapy.

U.S.-listed shares of Legend Biotech were up 2% in early trading.

Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called plasma cells, found in the bone marrow. J&J estimates more than 35,000 people to be diagnosed with the disease in 2023.

Carvykti belongs to a class of drugs known as CAR-T therapies that work by harvesting a patient’s own disease-fighting T-cells, genetically engineering them to target specific proteins on cancer cells, and replacing them to seek out and attack cancer.

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Source: Reuters