AbbVie's Cancer Drug Venetoclax Falls Short In Phase 3 Combination Trial For Myelodysplastic Syndromes

AbbVie Inc ABBV on Monday announced an update from the global Phase 3 VERONA trial evaluating venetoclax in combination with azacitidine for newly diagnosed higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS).

MDS is a group of cancers in which the bone marrow doesn’t produce enough healthy blood cells.

The primary outcome measure is overall survival (OS). Key secondary outcome measures include a modified overall response (mOR) and complete remission (CR).

Also Read: AbbVie Scores FDA Approval For Its Blockbuster Drug Rinvoq To Treat Type Of Arthritis

The trial did not meet the primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.908; stratified log-rank, p=0.3772. No new safety signals were observed.

Results from the VERONA trial will be available in a future medical congress and/or publication.

The treating physician will inform any patients who received venetoclax in combination with azacitidine through participation in the MDS clinical trials. 

These data do not impact any currently approved indications for venetoclax.

In the first quarter, AbbVie reported Venclexta’s revenues were $665 million, up 8.3% year over year (+12.3%).

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a label expansion for AbbVie’s Mavyret (glecaprevir/pibrentasvir) to include treatment of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis.

With this approval, Mavyret is the first and only DAA therapy approved to treat patients with acute HCV in eight weeks with a 96% cure rate.

HCV is a highly infectious blood-borne disease affecting the liver.

AbbVie Stock Prediction For 2025

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Price Action: ABBV stock is trading lower by 1.47% to $188.06 at last check Tuesday.

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