Novartis' Jakavi More Effective Than Best Available Therapy In GvHD

(RTTNews) - Novartis (NVS) has released data that shows showing Jakavi is more effective than best available therapy in acute graft-versus-host disease.

Data from the Phase III REACH2 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows Jakavi (ruxolitinib) improves outcomes across a range of efficacy measures in patients with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) compared to best available therapy.

The results of REACH2, the first Phase III study in acute GvHD to have met its primary endpoint, reinforce findings of the previously reported Phase II REACH1 study.

In REACH2, patients treated with Jakavi experienced significantly greater overall response rate vs. available therapy.

"Patients with acute graft-versus-host disease face life-threatening challenges with limited treatment options, particularly for the nearly half of individuals who do not respond to initial steroid therapy," said Robert Zeiser, University Hospital Freiburg, Department of Haematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Freiburg, Germany. "These new data from REACH2 showing superiority of Jakavi over current standard-of-care therapies add to a growing body of evidence on how targeting the JAK pathway can be an effective strategy in this difficult-to-treat condition."