FDA Approves Amgen’s Blincyto To Treat Rare Form of Leukemia

The Food and Drug Administration Dec. 3 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 agency said. The Philadelphia chromosome is an abnormality that sometimes occurs in the bone marrow cells of leukemia patients.

Blincyto, which is marketed by Amgen Inc., is an example of immunotherapy, a treatment that uses certain parts of a person’s immune system to fight ...