A panel of federal cancer experts has unanimously voted to grant accelerated approval to Seattle Genetics' (Nasdaq:SGEN) innovative chemotherapy drug to treat patients with recurring Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the white blood cells.
All 10 members of the Food and Drug Administration's oncology drug panel voted in favor of approving the drug based on a single study in about 100 patients. Regular approval normally requires two trials. The FDA is not required to follow the group's advice, though it usually does.