ABCNEWS.com : Cancer Drug Rituxan Shows Promise for Arthritis

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Cancer Drug Rituxan Shows Promise for Arthritis

‹ By Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Interim results of a clinical trial suggest blockbuster

cancer drug Rituxan also holds promise as a treatment for rheumatoid

arthritis, officials of three firms that sell the medicine said on

Wednesday.

The monoclonal antibody is one of the world's most successful cancer

medicines, with expected sales this year of $1 billion in the United States

-- where it is sold by biotech firms Genentech Inc and IDEC Pharmaceuticals

Corp. . It is sold in Europe as MabThera by Swiss drug giant Roche Holding

Ltd. .

The three firms on Wednesday said a Phase II trial of Rituxan conducted by

Roche in Europe showed " positive preliminary results " when it was tested by

itself or in combination with other treatments against rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition affecting an estimated 1 percent of the

population, two-thirds of them women, in which the body's overactive immune

system attacks joints and causes crippling pain.

Genentech spokesman Neil Cohen said the firms would not disclose safety and

efficacy data from the trial until late this year, when the study is slated

to be completed and results will probably be unveiled at a medical meeting.

" Assuming that everything goes well and the trial results are robust, we'll

then go ahead with more Phase II trials as well as pivotal Phase III

arthritis studies, " Cohen said.

If eventually approved for rheumatoid arthritis, he said Rituxan sales could

expand considerably because at least six times as many Americans suffer from

the condition than the type of cancer for which Rituxan is now approved.

It is now used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer affecting an

estimated 300,000 Americans that starts in the lymph system and spreads

throughout the body.

Given by infusion, Rituxan fights the cancer by targeting white blood cells

called B lymphocytes that are key to its spreading.

Cohen said Rituxan is being tested against rheumatoid arthritis because B

lymphocytes are also believed to spawn antibodies that attack the body's

joints.

Interim data from the Phase II arthritis trial apparently prove that

principle, although final data will be needed to clearly establish Rituxan's

effectiveness against rheumatoid arthritis, he added.

If approved for the condition, Rituxan would compete against Immunex Corp.'s

Enbrel and & 's Remicade, two popular new drugs that treat

rheumatoid arthritis by blocking an inflammation-causing protein called

Tumor Necrosis Factor.

McCamant, executive editor of the Medical Technology Stock Letter, said

Rituxan could become a " multibillion dollar " product if it is also approved

for rheumatoid arthritis.

" It could be used in combination with other drugs because this is a new

mechanism of action, " he said, adding that its established safety record as

a cancer drug could help it win FDA approval for arthritis.

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