STI571 Revolution: Can the Newer Targeted Drugs Measure Up?

Abstract

Not since the interferon craze of the early 1980s has a cancer drug captured the public imagination like Novartis’s STI571. Under the trade name Gleevec™, it won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 10 for treating chronic myeloid leukemia after a lightning-fast 2 1/2-month review (see sidebar, p. 972 ).