FDA gives second approval to Eli Lilly's drug for type of blood cancer

Eli Lilly said on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a second approval for its drug Jaypirca, which is used to treat a form of blood cancer.

The company said the health regulator gave the new approval to the drug for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many of certain white blood cells.

Jaypirca was first given accelerated approval by the FDA on Jan. 27 for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare type of blood cancer that starts in white blood cells and spreads to other parts of the body.


MCL is a more aggressive form of cancer compared to CLL, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The drug aims to treat adults with CLL after at least two lines of therapy.