Incyte's blood cancer drug succeeds late-stage trial

(Reuters) - Incyte said on Thursday its drug met the main goal in a late-stage trial evaluating it in patients with a form of blood cancer.

The company said its drug Monjuvi, combined with Bristol Myers Squibb's drug, Revlimid, and Biogen's Rituxan achieved progression free survival in patients with follicular lymphoma (FL), when compared to Rituxan and Revlimid alone.

FL is a slow-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that starts in the body's white blood cells called lymphocytes.

The disease affects about 17,000 people in the U.S. annually, according to company estimates.

Monjuvi combined with Revlimid is already approved for the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which is also a subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Based on the results of this trial, Incyte expects to file a supplemental marketing application to the FDA by the end of the year.

Other treatment options for patients with follicular lymphoma include cell therapies such as Novartis' Kymriah, Gilead Sciences' Yescarta and Bristol Myers Squibb's Breyanzi.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)