Johnson & Johnson-AbbVie Partnered Lymphoma Drug Slows Disease Progression, Data Shows - Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV)

Johnson & Johnson JNJ and AbbVie Inc ABBV announced primary results from the Phase 3 SHINE study of Imbruvica (ibrutinib) plus bendamustine-rituximab (BR) and rituximab maintenance in older patients with newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).
The combination regime significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 25% compared to placebo plus BR and rituximab maintenance.
Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 80.6 months with ibrutinib combined with bendamustine-rituximab and rituximab maintenance.
That compared with 52.9 months for the chemotherapy regimen in the 523-patient trial.
MCL is a rare type of lymphoma with an incidence of around 1 case per 200,000 people a year.
The complete response rate was 65.5% in the ibrutinib group and 57.6% in the placebo.
There was no difference in overall survival (OS) between treatment groups. The patients in the study continue to be followed for longer-term OS.
Price Action: JNJ shares are up 0.65% at $177.57, and ABBV shares are down 0.36% at $146.64 during the market session on the last check Monday.