The FDA approved Idhifa for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the result of important contributions from Hai Yan, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar ‘05-‘07), of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, and Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘13-‘16), of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. They made independent discoveries about mutations in the IDH2 gene and how these contribute to the development of AML. In clinical trials, Idhifa treatment led to complete remission in some patients and a reduction in the need for both red-cell and platelet transfusion.
