NOVARTIS' TASIGNA SHOWS POSITIVE RESULTS IN TRIAL

Swiss drugmaker Novartis' investigational drug Tasigna helped more than 90 percent of patients diagnosed with an unresponsive form of leukemia, according to a clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the study, Tasigna compound helped 92 percent of patients with chronic phase Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia achieve a complete hematologic response with normal white blood cell counts after five months, the company said.

This form of leukemia was treatment-resistant, with the patients previously showing resistant or intolerant to treatment with another Novartis drug, Gleevec.