Betting on a pair of JAKs

With INCB18424, Incyte Corp. and partner Novartis AG are tackling a first-in-class compound in an indication with no approved therapies, but where the mechanism is murky and the regulatory requirements aren't uniform. This month's publication of positive Phase I/II data for the JAK-1 and JAK-2 inhibitor to treat myelofibrosis suggests the partners are taking the right tack, as the study gave the partners a clearer roadmap for their ongoing Phase III program.

Myelofibrosis, along with essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera, are a subset of hematologic malignancies characterized by proliferation of abnormal bone marrow stem cells that are ultimately replaced with collagenous connective tissue fibers...