One is Tasigna, now approved for the minority chronic leukemia patients who are resistant to Gleevec.
One of the most exciting is Glivec, STI-571, for chronic myelogenous leukemia (see box, page 34).
Biogen Idec has a new drug for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which causes 20% of leukemia deaths.
Cancer drug Gleevec gives chronic myelogenous leukemia patients a 24-month survival rate of 92%.
But Gleevec only helps in two relatively uncommon tumors, chronic myeloid leukemia and stomach lining cancers.
The protein targeted by Gleevec is always present in a rare cancer called chronic myelogenous leukemia.
In 1999, I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, for which there is no cure.
She serves on the board of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Global Research Foundation at the M.
FORBES: Great Timing by Baldwin Investments on FCX and PXP -- Directors Sit at the Same Foundation
His own work with a similar technique has shown promise in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and in ALL in children.
If we look at the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Research Consortium webpage, we can see a few more interesting things.
FORBES: When Is a Director Not a Director? FactSet, Freeport and the University of Texas
They include Abilify for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Reyataz for HIV, Orencia for rheumatoid arthritis and Sprycel for chronic myelogenous leukemia.
This designer approach resulted in one big winner, Novartis' Gleevec for chronic myelogenous leukemia and a rare stomach tumor called GIST.
The final study looked at a new class of drugs called PI3K delta inhibitors, being tested in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Based on the trial, Novartis plans to apply next year for approval to market Tasigna for initial therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia.
Gleevec is not a big seller, but it is a breakthrough: About 80% of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia respond to the drug.
He points to Gleevec, a drug that boosted the survival rate of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia to about 90% from 20% to 25%.
The survival rate for one type of cancer afflicting young patients chronic myelocytic leukemia has increased from 0% in the early 1980s to 75%.
FORBES: Removing "Dismal" From Dismal Median Household Income Statistics
Postscript: There was a reason Charles came to the office late in the morning during those years: he generally spent his mornings doing chemotherapy against chronic myelogenous leukemia, diagnosed in 1983.
FORBES: What Makes a Good Founder? Hint: It's in the details
Novartis ' (nyse: NVS - news - people ) Gleevec, the first targeted cancer therapy, was approved after mid-stage trials in which it helped patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Gleevec was so good at attacking chronic myelogenous leukemia that it won approval in less than three months, after only two of the three phases of trials that the feds usually require.
Bristol-Myers executives are probably hoping the drug can repeat the super-fast approval managed by Gleevec, a Novartis (nyse: NVS - news - people) drug for chronic myelogenous leukemia that was approved earlier this year in record time.
Antigenics ' (nasdaq: AGEN - news - people ) decision to test the drug in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a rare disease developed by more than 4, 000 adults per year, is emblematic of a trend in drug development.
"This has the potential to increase the number of people who would be cured, " said Carl June, a cancer researcher at the University of Pennsylvania whose own work with a similar technique has shown promise in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and in ALL in children.
Oncology is attractive not only because of the huge need for better drugs but also because that's where the impact of the human genome project has been greatest, yielding targeted drugs such as Genentech's Herceptin for breast cancer and Novartis' Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia.
Now living with a rare, chronic form of leukemia (CML) diagnosed three years ago.
FORBES: Two-time Cancer Survivor's 10 Tips for the Healthcare System
应用推荐