CML treatment Sprycel launched in UK

USA-based drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced the UK launch of Sprycel (dasatinib), its drug for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in patients who are resistant or intolerant to imatinib therapy. The agent is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been shown to suppress the proliferation of diseased cells.

B-MS explained that, unlike currently available CML therapies, Sprycel targets two forms of the Bcr-Abl protein, thereby reducing the likelihood that treatment resistance will develop. The firm added that patients who are already resistant to therapy can be treated with the drug, which has been shown to inhibit a wide range of Bcr-Abl mutations in vitro.

The agent is approved for the treatment of CML and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) by both the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (Marketletters July 10 and November 27), and has been granted Orphan Drug status on both sides of the Atlantic.