Monday 17 June 2013

Ibrutinib Phase 2 Data: Analyses Show Efficacy with Ibrutinib Monotherapy in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell or Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma


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ibrutinib

June 16, 2013 

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen), today announced the results of two separate Phase 2 studies suggesting that ibrutinib, an investigational oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, shows efficacy when used as a monotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The studies were presented today at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 18th Annual Congress in Stockholm, Sweden. Ibrutinib is being jointly developed by Janssen and Pharmacyclics, Inc.


Ibrutinib (USAN), also known as PCI-32765, is an experimental drug candidate for the treatment of various types of cancer. It is an orally-administered, selective and covalent inhibitor of the enzyme Bruton tyrosine kinase (Btk).

Ibrutinib is currently under development by Pharmacyclics, Inc and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical division for B-cell malignancies including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

Ibrutinib was first designed and synthesized at Celera Genomics by Zhengying Pan, who along with a team of chemists and biologists reported in 2007 a structure-based approach for creating a series of small molecules that inactivate BTK through covalent binding to cysteine-481 near the ATP binding domain of BTK[2]. 
These small molecules irreversibly inhibited BTK by using a Michael acceptor for binding to the target cysteine. 

In April 2006, Pharmacyclics acquired Celera’s small molecule BTK inhibitor discovery program, which included a compound, PCI-32765 (known as compound 13 in the Pan et al paper) that was subsequently chosen for further preclinical development based on the discovery of anti-lymphoma properties in vivo . 

Since 2006, Pharmacyclics’ scientists have advanced the molecule into clinical trials and identified specific clinical indications for the drug.  It also has potential effects against autoimmune arthritis.

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