Cell Therapeutics Lymphoma Drug Wipes Out Tumors in Pivotal Trial
Summary
The Seattle-based biotech company said its experimental drug for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, pixantrone, was able to completely wipe out tumors for one-fifth of patients in a clinical trial, compared with about 6 percent who did that well on standard chemotherapy.Cell Therapeutics plans to ask for a meeting with the FDA to discuss filing an application to market the product in early 2009.The positive result for pixantrone comes at a rock bottom point for Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTIC).Although many investors surely have written off the stock, data like this from pixantrone will be hard to ignore for pharmaceutical partners.Whether it can really achieve these high rates of tumor shrinkage with milder side effects is a big question that isn’t answered in today’s release, but the shareholders, at least those who are left, will stick around to get the full picture.