Sanofi's new research spanning marketed and investigational haematology products, including its late-stage selective JAK2 inhibitor, will be featuring 178 abstracts  at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Haematology (ASH) from December 8-11, 2012 in Atlanta.

“We have a strong commitment to developing treatment solutions for patients with difficult-to-treat blood cancers where there remains unmet medical need,” said Debasish Roychowdhury, MD, senior vice president and head, Sanofi Oncology. “At this year’s ASH, we unveil for the haematology community our selective JAK2 inhibitor, which we are investigating to fill existing treatment gaps in myelofibrosis. We look forward to the results of our phase III trial in 2013.”

Abstracts to be presented at the meeting cover the latest research on Sanofi Oncology’s marketed haematology products Clolar/Evoltra, Elitek, Mozobil and Thymoglobuline as well as the novel, investigational selective JAK2 inhibitor (SAR302503). Sanofi Oncology’s JAK2 inhibitor is in clinical development for the treatment of the three main types of myeloproliferative neoplasms: primary myelofibrosis (MF), polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET).

JAK2 is a key enzyme for blood cell development. Mutations in JAK2 can lead to dysregulated JAK2 signalling and are thought to be a cause of MF.  Patients with wild type JAK2 have also been shown to have persistent, dysregulated activation of the JAK2 signalling pathway, which may be caused by mutations in other proteins believed to drive the development of the disease. In early clinical studies, the Sanofi JAK2 inhibitor has shown activity in MF patients with both wild type and mutated (JAK2V617F) JAK2.

Approved in 49 countries, Clolar/Evoltra is for the treatment of paediatric patients with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) after at least two prior treatment options. Randomized trials demonstrating increased survival or other clinical benefit have not been conducted. Clolar/Evoltra was the first chemotherapy in more than a decade approved specifically for children with ALL.

Approved in 42 countries, Mozobil rapidly and effectively increases the number of hematopoietic stem cells in the blood to prepare non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma patients for an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Mozobil is used with another medication (G-CSF) to release hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow into the bloodstream by disrupting a bond that normally keeps stem cells anchored to the bone marrow.

Thymoglobuline has been an integral part of the immunosuppressive regimen for patients undergoing solid organ and allogeneic stem cell transplantation as well as a standard of care for patients with aplastic anaemia who cannot undergo a stem cell transplantation. Thymoglobuline remains an appropriate first-line immunosuppressive therapy in the treatment of aplastic anaemia based on its positive benefit/risk profile in those countries where no horse ATG is available.

Sanofi Oncology is dedicated to translating science into effective therapeutics that address unmet medical needs for cancer and organ transplant patients.

Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme.