Lintuzumab

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Lintuzumab
Humanized (from mouse)
TargetCD33
Clinical data
ATC code
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Identifiers
CAS Number
ChemSpider
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Lintuzumab (SGN-33) is a

myeloproliferative diseases
, but does not appear in abundance on normal cells.

Trials for AML were abandoned in 2010 when a phase IIb trial failed to show increased survival.

As of 2010, Seattle Genetics was conducting Phase II trials of lintuzumab in conjunction with bortezomib (marketed as Velcade) as a treatment for those with myelodysplastic syndromes.[1]

History of AML trials

Lintuzumab had been in mid-stage clinical trial when Seattle Genetics pulled the drug in September 2010 after evidence showed that it did not lead to higher survival rates.[2] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency had granted lintuzumab orphan drug status for treatment of AML and myelodysplastic syndromes.[1] Seattle Genetics had licensed lintuzumab from PDL BioPharma, which had been unsuccessful in treating AML in clinical trials of its own in which they used lower doses.[2]

The Phase IIb randomized, double-blind clinical trial studied 211 individuals ages 60 and over who had been enrolled by February 2009 and who were poor candidates for high-dose chemotherapy or had made the choice to reject the traditional chemotherapy treatment.[3] The study participants typically had a projected four to five months to live, with half treated with lintuzumab and a low dose of the chemotherapeutic agent cytarabine, while the other half were given cytarabine in combination with a placebo. No patients were harmed in the trial and patients in both groups lived longer than expected, with those being given lintuzumab having a lower death rate. However, the study found that there was no benefit to patients on a statistical basis, and that it did not reduce the risk of infection or the need for blood transfusions.[2]

Competition

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (marketed as Mylotarg), a similar drug from Pfizer that also targets the CD33 protein on leukemic cells, was withdrawn from the market in June 2010 after trials showed little benefit to patients.

Clofarabine, a treatment for AML marketed by Genzyme as Clolar that targets a different treatment approach, failed to get approval from the FDA in October 2009, which said that additional trials were needed.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Lintuzumab (SGN-33)[permanent dead link], Seattle Genetics. Accessed September 13, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Pollack A (September 13, 2010). "Leukemia Drug Trial Fails". The New York Times.
  3. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
    .

Sources