Study Shows Neulasta Lowers Incidence of Neutropenia

Amgen has announced that data from the largest randomized, placebo-controlled study to date for Neulasta has been published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The Phase III study showed that administering Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) beginning in the first and subsequent cycles of chemotherapy reduced the incidence of febrile neutropenia (low white blood cell count with fever), a serious complication of cancer chemotherapy typically associated with infection, by more than 90 percent.

Data from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 928 breast cancer patients show that first and subsequent-cycle administration of Neulasta resulted in a 94 percent reduction in the incidence of febrile neutropenia, a 93 percent reduction in the incidence of hospitalization and an 80 percent reduction in the incidence of intravenous anti-infective use in patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy previously considered at moderate risk for neutropenic complications.