Health Canada approves Tasigna for newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML

A significant improvement over the gold standard in treating a white blood cell cancer

Over a decade ago, Canadian patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), celebrated when ^PrGleevec (imatinib mesylate) was approved in Canada. Those stricken with the white blood cell cancer finally had an effective treatment option that changed their cancer from a terminal disease to a manageable, chronic illness. Considered groundbreaking in the world of cancer, the new treatment even made major headlines around the world.

Today, a more effective and well tolerated therapeutic option has been added to the treatment arsenal in the war against CML. Tasigna (nilotinib capsules) 150 mg has been granted a marketing authorization with conditions by Health Canada  for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML (Ph+ CML) in the chronic phase (first phase) of the disease.

"We are pleased by Health Canada's approval of Tasigna for newly diagnosed CML patients," says Dr. Jeffrey Lipton, a medical oncologist with Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. "This means Canadian physicians now have a more effective option than the current gold standard which has significant benefit for patients. Whereas Gleevec provided a good response for CML patients, targeting cancer cells, Tasigna goes even further by putting patients into a faster and deeper remission, rendering the disease almost undetectable. Most importantly, disease progression has been markedly reduced."