Bluebird, Celgene Cancer Therapy Gets Boost From New Study

An experimental therapy from Bluebird Bio Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. benefited more than 80% of patients nearing death from an advanced form of blood cancer in a pivotal study, clearing a hurdle in its path to U.S. approval.

A single high-dose infusion of the personalized medicine known as bb2121 generated a response in 44 of 54 patients with multiple myeloma, including 19 who had a complete response, the companies said in a statement Friday. Patients went a median of 11.3 months before the cancer progressed, topping expectations that it needed to stop the disease for at least six months to gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.