Zenapax Effective Against Acute GvH - Protein Design Labs's Zenapax - Product Information

Applied Genetics News, April, 1999

Protein Design Labs (34801 Campus Dr., Fremont, CA 94555; Tel: 510/574-1400) has released results of a phase II trial of Zenapax (daclizumab) for the treatment of patients with acute graft versus host (GvH) disease. Zenapax is a humanized antibody created by Protein Design Labs and currently marketed by Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc.

and affiliates for the treatment of acute rejection following renal transplantation in the U.S. and other countries. The results were presented at the 1999 Tandem bone marrow transplant meeting held in Keystone, Colorado by Nancy A. Kernan, associate attending physician on the bone marrow transplantation service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The trial involved 43 allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipients with advanced or steroid refractory GvH disease. Twenty-four patients were treated with Zenapax at 1 mg/kg on days 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. The complete response rate was 29%. The same percentage of patients survived at day 120. Nineteen patients were treated with Zenapax at 1 mg/kg on days 1, 4, 8, 15, and 22. The complete response rate in these patients on day 43 was 47% and survival on day 120 was 53%. By organ, the complete response rates were 73% for skin, 70% for the gut, and 17% for liver. No serious side effects were attributed to Zenapax.