AstraZeneca, a UK-based pharmaceutical company, and MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, announced on Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Lumoxiti (moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) who have received at least two prior systemic therapies, including treatment with a purine nucleoside analog.

The Phase III trial results demonstrated 75% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 64, 84) of patients receiving Lumoxiti achieved an overall response; 30% (95% CI: 20, 41) had a durable complete response.

Dave Fredrickson, executive vice-president, global head Oncology Business Unit, said, 'Today's FDA approval of Lumoxiti represents a significant milestone for people living with hairy cell leukaemia, a rare blood cancer that can result in serious and life-threatening conditions. For patients, this approval provides the first FDA-approved medicine for this condition in more than 20 years.'

Lumoxiti was approved under FDA Priority Review. The approval is based on data from the Phase III single-arm, open-label '1053' trial of Lumoxiti monotherapy in 80 patients who have received at least two prior therapies, including a purine nucleoside analog. The primary endpoint of the trial was durable complete response.