Cancer is considered one of the most dangerous diseases in today’s world. However a drug created by Incyte, called Jakafi, might be used for those suffering from pancreatic cancer and it is giving patients new hope.
The Incyte Corporation recently tested a new drug for pancreatic cancer patients. Apparently the drug has already been approved in the U.S. to treat a form of blood cancer. Now a new study discussed here by Reuters shows that it can also work in late stages of pancreatic cancer.
The survival rate of patients using the drug and also getting chemotherapy was a whopping forty-two percent. Whereas the survival rate of patients only getting chemotherapy was only eleven percent. The study showed that the drug is highly beneficial to pancreatic cancer patients. Authors of the study as well as patients found the results to be quite encouraging.
Jakafi is already utilized in the United States to treat intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis which is a form of blood cancer. Outside of the U.S. the drug is known as Jakavi. Incyte, the company which makes Jakafi, is doing quite well; the drug has reached high levels of popularity due to its effectiveness. The company expects revenues to mount to between $220 to $230 million in the year 2013; more and more cancer patients are being prescribed the drug due to its great benefits.
Research shows the drug is extremely important as pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat. According to Reuters, The National Cancer Institute approximates that 38,460 people will die of pancreatic cancer in 2013 and 45,220 more people will be diagnosed with it. Researchers were happy to find that the combination of Jakafi and capecitabine (chemotherapy drug) were well tolerated in the study. They hope that this will usher in a new era of good treatment and hope for patients suffering from pancreatic cancer.
