Later in oct -->BGEN/IDEC Pharma (ticker now BIIB), and Genetech Report Positive Results From Rituxan Study
Sunday October 26, 5:00 pm ET
ORLANDO, Fla. -(Dow Jones)- Genentech Inc. (NYSE:DNA - News) , IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NasdaqNM:IDPH - News) and Roche Holding AG reported positive results from a Phase II study of their Rituxan drug in treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
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In a press release Sunday, the drug maker said a single, short course of treatment with Rituxan improved symptoms in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis for up to 48 weeks compared to methotrexate alone.
The drug is currently marketed to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
As part of the Phase II trial, patients were randomly placed into one of four treatment groups and given two infusions during the first 15 days of treatment with Rituxan, alone or in combination with either methotrexate or cyclophosphamide. The study included 161 patients with active, long-standing rheumatoid arthritis who hadn't responded or responded inadequately to multiple other therapies.
At 48 weeks, patients receiving the combination of Rituxan and methotrexate reported the greatest improvement with 65% of the 40 patients in that group showing at least a 20% improvement in symptoms. About 35% of the 40 patients showed at least a 50% improvement in symptoms, while 15% of the patients had at least a 70% improvement.
Based on earlier results from this study, the companies started global randomized studies evaluating Rituxan in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The two resulting studies currently are enrolling patients.
-Maria P. Vallejo; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400 |
