Bayer Drug Gets FDA Approval for 'Difficult-to-Treat' Blood Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Bayer to sell a new drug to adults with relapsing follicular lymphoma.

Author:: Cherella Cox
Publish date:: Sep 15, 2017 5:59 PM EDT

New drug, new hope for cancer patients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Bayer AG (BAYN) to sell a new drug option to people fighting a "very serious and difficult-to-treat blood cancer," as described by Carsten Brunn, head of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Americas Region.

Thursday Bayer received approval of Aliqopa, or copanlisib, an intravenous drug for adults with relapsing follicular lymphoma. It is a new option for people who have previously been treated with at least two systemic therapies, according to Bayer's press release. The drug is an inhibitor that blocks the growth of malignant cells, as discovered in an 104-patient study this summer, which led to accelerated approval.

Follicular lymphoma is a type of Non-Hodgkin disease. Of the two typical types of blood disease -- Non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin -- most people are diagnosed with the former. The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 72,240 new cases of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017. About 1 out of 5 lymphomas in the United States is a follicular lymphoma.

"Even though lymphoma is cancer, it is very treatable. Many cases can even be cured," states the WebMD website.

In 2014, there were an estimated 661,996 people living with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the United States, the site states. Approximately 2.1% of men and women will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at some point during their lifetime, based on 2012-2014 data collected by the U.S. government's National Cancer Institute.

When looking at survival rates, the National Cancer Society, states: As treatments are improving over time, people who are now being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma may have a better outlook than these statistics show.

Between 2010-2014, the number of new cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma was 19.5 per 100,000 men and women per year. The number of deaths was 5.9 per 100,000 men and women per year.

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