The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Blincyto (blinatumomab) to treat patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-cell ALL), an uncommon form of ALL.

Precursor B-cell ALL is a rapidly growing type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many B-cell lymphoblasts, an immature type of white blood cell. The Philadelphia chromosome is an abnormality that sometimes occurs in the bone marrow cells of leukemia patients. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 6,020 Americans will be diagnosed with ALL and 1,440 will die from the disease in 2014.

Blincyto is an example of immunotherapy, a treatment that uses certain parts of a person’s immune system to fight diseases such as cancer. Blincyto is the first approved drug that engages the body’s T-cells, a type of white blood cell or lymphocyte, to destroy leukemia cells. The drug acts as a connector between a protein called CD19, which is found on the surface of most B-cell lymphoblasts, and CD3, a protein on T-cell lymphocytes. It is intended for patients whose cancer returned after treatment (relapsed) or did not respond to previous treatment (refractory).

For more details, go to: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm425549.htm