Merck says phase 2b study points to benefit of Zolinza for T-cell lymphoma

New York, June 5 - Merck & Co., Inc. said 30% of patients in its phase 2b open-label study evaluating Zolinza (vorinostat, also known as suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid) in patients with advanced, refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

"These results provide additional evidence of the potential benefit of histone deacetylase inhibitors as a new and promising class of anticancer agents" Elise Olsen, director, CTCL Clinic & Research Center at Duke University Medical Center, and lead investigator of the study, in a news release.

The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Atlanta.

In the study 22 of 74 patients responded to treatment with Zolinza, an investigational histone deacetylase inhibitor, as measured by the objective response rate (complete and partial responses as measured by a modified skin severity weighted assessment tool).

The single-arm, non-randomized study included 74 patients with advanced disease who had previously failed a median of three systemic therapies. Patients were given 400 mg once daily until disease progression or intolerable toxicity, with modifications to the dose, as needed, to either 300 mg once daily or 300 mg once daily for five days per week.

Merck is a global pharmaceutical company based in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

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