Thursday, October 1, 2015

AbbVie's venetoclax Phase 2 trial meets primary endpoint in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL with 17P deletion


ABT-199 structure


Venetoclax, also known as ABT-199 or GDC0199, is an orally bioavailable, selective small molecule inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, with potential antineoplastic activity. Venetoclax mimics BH3-only proteins, the native ligands of Bcl-2 and apoptosis activators, by binding to the hydrophobic groove of Bcl-2 proteins thereby repressing Bcl-2 activity and restoring apoptotic processes in tumor cells. Bcl-2 protein is overexpressed in some cancers and plays an important role in the regulation of apoptosis; its expression is associated with increased drug resistance and tumor cell survival. Compared to the Bcl-2 inhibitor navitoclax, this agent does not inhibit bcl-XL and does not cause bcl-XL-mediated thrombocytopenia....


AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company,  announced that a Phase 2 trial of its investigational medicine venetoclax met its primary endpoint of achieving overall response rates in patients with relapsed/refractory or previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with 17p deletion, according to an independent review analysis. The open-label study evaluated the efficacy and safety of venetoclax, an inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein that is being developed in partnership with Genentech and Roche.

Data from this study will be presented at an upcoming medical conference and will serve as the pivotal registration data for applications to the FDA, EMA and other health authorities. The safety profile was similar to previous studies and no unexpected safety signals were reported for venetoclax.




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