Two Treatments for AML Approved in the Same Day
Progress in treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most pressing challenges in the blood cancers, took an important step forward today with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s decision to approve TWO treatment options for patients with newly diagnosed AML in the same day.
As a leader in the offensive against AML, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) applauds today’s FDA approvals, which provide critical treatment options for AML patients in urgent need:
Glasdegib (Daurismo®), a new therapy, has been approved in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed adult patients with AML who are age 75 or older or who have other chronic health conditions or diseases that might preclude the use of intensive chemotherapy. The therapy targets a cell signaling pathway called Hedgehog, which is critical for the development of immature cells into cells with more specialized functions. Learn more.- Venetoclax (Venclexta®), an existing therapy, is now approved in combination with chemotherapy, also for the treatment of newly diagnosed adult patients with AML who are age 75 or older or who have other chronic health conditions or diseases that might preclude the use of intensive chemotherapy. This therapy targets the cellular pathway that regulates natural cell death. When this process goes awry, as it often does in cancer, the body is unable to rid itself of unhealthy cells. Learn more.
After a 40-year drought in the approval of new therapies for this lethal disease, today’s approvals bring us to eight drug approvals for AML since 2017. Through our sustained research investment, LLS has played a significant role in helping to advance all of these approved therapies.
What’s more, today’s approvals show that we are headed in the right direction with a precision medicine approach to conquering this difficult cancer. Looking ahead, we expect this dizzying rate of progress to continue for AML patients.