AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to venetoclax, an investigational, oral B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) inhibitor, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). AML can be a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow and is the most common type of acute leukaemia in adults. Venetoclax is being developed by AbbVie in partnership with Genentech and Roche.

AML is generally a disease of older people and is uncommon before the age of 45, with the average age being 67 years of age. In AML, the body produces too many of a specific type of white blood cell (myeloblast), which can crowd out healthy blood cells. In Europe, the annual incidence rate of AML is estimated to be 1/33,000-1/25,000.

The EMA previously granted Orphan Drug Designation to venetoclax for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Orphan Designation is granted to therapies aimed at the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of life-threatening diseases that affect no more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union (EU) and for which no satisfactory therapy is available. The medicine must also provide significant benefit to those affected by the condition.

"There have been very few treatment advances for patients with AML who are older than 60, the patient population that is most often affected by this aggressive and life-threatening cancer," said Michael Severino, M.D., executive vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie. "These designations for venetoclax not only underscore the unmet need for patients with AML, but also reinforce our ongoing commitment to battling cancer and researching scientific advances in oncology."

The US Food and Drug Administration recently granted venetoclax both Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) and Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for the treatment of patients with AML. The FDA has also granted venetoclax Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of CLL in previously treated (relapsed/refractory) patients with the 17p deletion genetic mutation and in combination with rituximab for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (R/R CLL). Additionally, venetoclax recently received validation from the EMA for its Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for the treatment of CLL patients with 17p deletion or TP53 mutation, as well as acceptance by Health Canada for the New Drug Submission (NDS) for the treatment of patients with CLL who have received at least one prior therapy, including patients with 17p deletion.

Venetoclax is an investigational oral B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of patients with various cancer types. The BCL-2 protein prevents apoptosis (programmed cell death) of some cells, including lymphocytes, and can be over expressed in some cancer types. Venetoclax is designed to selectively inhibit the function of the BCL-2 protein. Venetoclax is being developed in collaboration with Genentech and Roche. Together, the companies are committed to BCL-2 research with venetoclax, which is currently being evaluated in phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed/refractory CLL, along with studies in several other cancers. Venetoclax is an investigational compound and its safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by the EMA or any other health authority.

AbbVie's oncology research is focused on the discovery and development of targeted therapies that work against the processes cancers need to survive. By investing in new technologies and approaches, AbbVie is breaking ground in some of the most widespread and difficult-to-treat cancers, including glioblastoma multiforme, multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases.