By Carlo Martuscelli 
 

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) said Monday that its cancer drug Calquence improved the amount of time patients with leukemia lived without disease progression when compared with other available treatments.

An interim analysis of data from the Ascend phase 3 trial showed that 88% of patients being treated with the drug didn't have their disease progress after a year. This is compared with 68% of patients who were being treated with rituximab combined with idelalisib or bendamustine.

The patients being treated have relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, it said.

The study demonstrated that Calquence--a type of drug known as a BTK inhibitor--is a viable alternative to chemotherapy, said Jose Baselga, executive vice president of oncology research and development at AstraZeneca.

Write to Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 17, 2019 02:33 ET (06:33 GMT)