Leukemia is the most common type of blood cancer, and there are approximately 231,461 people in the United States living with leukemia, according to the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). The term leukemia is a general term that includes four major diseases: acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
Recognizing the impact that blood cancers have on the American population, Innovation.org highlights important research into leukemia. Click on the links below to read more about leukemia treatments and research.
Introduction to Leukemia
Click here to learn more about leukemia, including treatments and progress in current research.
Then & Now – Leukemia
It's easy to forget, but not very long ago the treatments we might today take for granted hadn't yet been developed.
Click here to read about past and present treatment options for leukemia.
Patient Perspectives
Today there are treatments for leukemia that greatly ease the burden for those living with the disease and increase survival rates. Click on the links below to read thoughts from patients living with leukemia and to learn how advances in treatments impact patient lives.
Milestones in Leukemia research
Click here to see a timeline highlighting key milestones in leukemia research and treatments.
New Medicines
Researchers have made many advances in successfully developing treatments for leukemia. Medical advances in genetic studies have allowed researchers to develop more effective, targeted treatments for leukemia. Furthermore, several vaccines are now being studied for use against chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Read below for information about recent advances in leukemia treatments.
Recent FDA Approvals for Leukemia
- Treanda® – bendamustin hydrochloride – approved 3/20/2008. For treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
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Tasigna® – nilotinib – approved 10/29/2007. For the treatment of chronic phase and accelerated phase Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia in adults resistant to or intolerant to prior therapy that included Gleevec.
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Sprycel™– dasatinib – approved 6/29/2006. For the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in patients who are no longer responding to, or cannot tolerate, imatinib (Gleevec); treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in patients who are no longer responding to, or cannot tolerate, other therapies.
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Arranon® – nelarabine – approved 10/28/2005. For the treatment of leukemia.
Click here for a full list of recent FDA approvals in all disease areas.
Medicines in Development DatabaseClick here to access our medicines in development database, which contains information about drugs currently in clinical trials or at FDA for review.
Innovation in Leukemia – Discoverers Awards
Each year, PhRMA honors pharmaceutical research scientists whose research and development of new medicines have greatly benefited humankind, and whose dedication and interest in improving the quality of life exemplify the best in the research industry with the Discoverers Award.
The Story of Gleevec®The 2004 Discoverers Award went to Elisabeth Buchdunger, Ph.D. and Juerg Zimmerman, Ph.D., for their contributions to the discovery of Gleevec
®, a groundbreaking treatment for drug for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and the first drug approved that uses molecular targeting to shut down the signal of a protein that causes cancer while sparing patients many of the debilitating side effects of traditional cancer treatments. Gleevec was approved by the FDA in 2001, merely 10 weeks after is was submitted for approval, and it is now being tested against other types of cancer, including gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a rare solid tumor, brain cancers, and soft tissue carcomas.
The Story of Mylotarg®The 2003 Discoverers Award went to George Ellestad, Ph.D., Philip Hamann, Ph.D., and Janis Upeslacis, Ph.D., for the discovery of a method by which scientists could link a cancer antibody found naturally in the body with a powerful cancer-fighting substance called calicheamicin (produced by tiny organisms in a type of soil known as caliche clay). The resulting treatment proved to be a powerful weapon against relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and this targeted approach to cancer therapy has been the foundation for many successful cancer treatments that followed, improving the lives of those who suffer from various forms of the disease.
The Story of Purinethol®
The 1987 Discoverers Award went to George H. Hitchings, Ph.D., for his contributions to the discovery of the anti-leukemia drug mercaptopurine (Purinethol
®). Mercaptopurine is one of the drugs used to treat leukemia patients, many of whom are children. It and other drugs have played a key role in improving survival rates among leukemia patients and made this type of cancer more treatable.
Click here for a list of all of the Discoverers Awards since 1987.
Featured Studies and Reports
As part of its ongoing effort to encourage new research and pharmaceutical innovation, Innovation.org highlights key studies and reports into critical disease areas. Read about recent research in leukemia and other rare diseases in the report below.
