Incyte trial results at ASH: New approach to treating myelofibrosis

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

ORLANDO, Fla  — An experimental drug from Incyte achieved meaningful spleen response rates and improvements in disease symptoms in patients with advanced myelofibrosis, according to study results reported Sunday. 

The data, while preliminary, should bolster the company’s efforts to develop a new type of drug for myelofibrosis, a bone-marrow cancer, by targeting a mutation in a protein called calreticulin. 

Incyte needs new medicines because Jakafi, its current myelofibrosis blockbuster with expected sales of $3.5 billion this year, is losing patent protection in 2028.