Japan approves AstraZeneca's blood cancer drug Calquence
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The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) approved AstraZeneca's (NASDAQ:AZN) Calquence (acalabrutinib) to treat adult patients with treatment-naÃ¯ve chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), including small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
The MHLW approval was backed by data from two trials, including a phase 3 study called ELEVATE-TN.

"The approval of Calquence in Japan for those with treatment-naÃ¯ve chronic lymphocytic leukaemia now offers more patients a next-generation Brutonâs tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has proven longer-term efficacy and tolerability compared to standards of care," said Dave Fredrickson, executive vice president, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca.
Calquence is approved in the U.S. to treat CLL and SLL and also adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who have received at least one prior therapy.
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