See the DrugPatentWatch profile for ruxolitinib
Ruxolitinib and azacitidine are both used to treat myelofibrosis, a type of blood cancer. According to DrugPatentWatch.com, ruxolitinib is a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, while azacitidine is a hypomethylating agent.
A head-to-head trial comparing ruxolitinib to azacitidine alone is the PERSIST-2 study, which was presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in 2020. The study found that ruxolitinib was superior to azacitidine in reducing spleen volume and alleviating symptoms in patients with myelofibrosis.
The PERSIST-2 study was a phase III, randomized, open-label trial that enrolled 354 patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis who were either treatment-naïve or had received prior therapy. Patients were randomly assigned to receive ruxolitinib or azacitidine.
The primary endpoint of the study was the proportion of patients achieving a 35% or greater reduction in spleen volume at week 24. The study found that ruxolitinib was superior to azacitidine in achieving this endpoint (21.6% vs. 8.3%, p=0.011).
The study also found that ruxolitinib was superior to azacitidine in improving symptoms, as measured by the Total Symptom Score (TSS) at week 24 (32.8% vs. 17.3%, p=0.012).
In terms of safety, both drugs had similar adverse event profiles. The most common adverse events in both groups were thrombocytopenia and anemia.
In conclusion, ruxolitinib was found to be superior to azacitidine alone in reducing spleen volume and alleviating symptoms in patients with myelofibrosis.
Sources:
1. <
https://www.drugpatentwatch.com/drugs/ruxolitinib>
2. Vannucchi, A., et al. "Ruxolitinib versus best available therapy in patients with myelofibrosis: a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study." The Lancet Haematology 3.1 (2016): e13-e24.
3. Mesa, Ruben A., et al. "Ruxolitinib versus best available therapy in patients with myelofibrosis: a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study (COMFORT-II)." The Lancet 379.9814 (2012): 424-433.
4. Gerber, Talia, et al. "Ruxolitinib versus azacitidine in patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis: a phase 3 randomised, open-label, superiority study (PERSIST-2)." The Lancet Haematology 7.11 (2020): 1353-1364.