Photo via Shutterstock.
Photo via Shutterstock.

Bothell-based Seattle Genetics and Tokyo-based Takeda Oncology announced the success of their phase 3 clinical trial of Adcetris today, an immunotherapy drug that treats lymphoma, a cancer of white blood cells.

Fifty-six percent of patients in the trial who took Adcetris showed an improvement that lasted at least four months, compared to only 12 percent of patients who took a control drug. The study examined the drug’s effect on patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, one of the most common forms of lymphoma.

Seattle Genetics shares rose two percent following the announcement, but have since fallen back to $48.43. The company is valued at $6.9 billion.

Adcetris is an antibody drug conjugate, composed of a cancer-fighting drug and an antibody which discriminates between cancerous and non-cancerous cells, effectively targeting cancer cells while leaving normal cells unscathed.

The study, called Alcanza, is the first of its kind according to Clay Siegall, President and CEO of Seattle Genetics.

“We are thrilled to have successfully demonstrated the positive impact of using Adcetris for patients enrolled in this study,” Siegall said in a release. “We anticipate reporting more complete Alcanza data at the ASH [American Society of Hematology] annual meeting in December.”

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