Seattle Genetics Shows Re-Treatment Action

Luke Timmerman6/5/10

Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN) and Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company said today that their “empowered antibody” for blood cancers showed promising results in a small study of patients who were re-treated following a relapse. The study found that seven of 11 patients with Hodgkin’s disease or anaplastic large cell lymphoma had at least partial tumor shrinkage after getting re-treated with brentuximab vedotin. The drug is unusual in that it combines the targeting ability of an antibody with a toxin to make it more potent against tumors. Results were presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. We wrote a detailed story last month about the commercial potential Seattle Genetics and Millennium see in this emerging field of cancer treatment.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotech Editor of Xconomy, and the Editor of Xconomy Seattle. E-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ldtimmerman.