On Thursday, Pfizer (PFE) received FDA approval for its drug Besponsa to treat patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This is a good FDA approval for Pfizer, which will have a good head start in this space. That is because there are many CAR-T therapies that are offering up potential cures to certain forms of ALL. For instance, Novartis (NVS) last month won a unanimous panel decision for its CAR-T therapy treating patients with B-Cell ALL. More about the positive panel backing for Novartis' CAR-T drug CTL019 can be read in a Seeking Alpha article I wrote named "Novartis Wins FDA Panel Backing For New CAR-T Therapy Treatment."
Another CAR-T company developing treatment for many different types of ALL indications is Kite Pharma (KITE). In either case, Besponsa must obtain as much revenue as possible before these CAR-T therapies hit the market. For now, Pfizer is safe with respect to its Besponsa drug.
