Cell Therapeutics has announced the preliminary results of a Phase I/II study of Pixantrone combined with fludarabine, dexamethasone, and rituximab, for treatment of patients with relapsed indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or NHL. According to the study, Pixantrone combination regimen, known as FPD-R, produced 95 percent overall response rate, with 77 percent of complete tumor disappearance in NHL patients. Meanwhile, among the 22 patients in the study, 18 percent achieved a partial response.

The company is further studying pixantrone in an ongoing Phase III study in aggressive NHL, known as the EXTEND trial.