Biotech company Morphosys relies on cancer drug against myelofibrosis

Dusseldorf The great hope at the German biotech company Morphosys goes by the name of Pelabresib. This is an anti-cancer drug used to treat a rare type of blood cancer called myelofibrosis. Phase 3 study results are expected to be presented later this year.

At an investor event on Wednesday, company boss Jean-Paul Kress was confident. “Pelabresib represents our biggest and most immediate opportunity,” he told investors. “We have great confidence in pelabresib and the phase 3 trial.”

Myelofibrosis patients suffer from a variety of symptoms, most notably an enlarged spleen, but also fever, night sweats, severe fatigue, bone pain and itching. In Germany there are extrapolated 1000 new cases per year. Ninety percent of patients are at moderate to high risk when diagnosed. The average survival rate for a medium risk is three to six years, for a high risk only one.