Campath-1H

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a malignant hemato-logical disorder characterzed by an accumulation of immunologically incompetent lymphocytes. The majority of cases (95%) are neoplasms of B-lymphocytes and 2%-5% are T-lymphocytes lymphoproliferative disorders Campath-1H (llex Pharmaceuticals, San Antonio, TX) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that is directed against CD52, a cell-surface antigen present on the lymphocytes of almost all patients with B and T cell lymphocytic leukemia. Campath-1H has shown promising results in early clinical studies, and aproval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the use of this monoclonal antibody in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia may occur this year.