Panel advises European regulators to OK leukemia drug from Ariad Pharmaceuticals

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

A panel that advises European regulators has issued a positive opinion on a drug from Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. that has been designed to treat certain forms of leukemia, Cambridge-based Ariad said Friday in a press release.

That opinion was issued by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP. The CHMP is recommending that European Union regulators approve Ariad’s market authorization application for Iclusig for two indications of chronic myeloid leukemia.

“We look forward to the anticipated marketing authorization by the European Commission around mid-2013,” Ariad chairman and chief executive Harvey J. Berger said in a statement.

Iclusig was approved in the US by the FDA in December, said Ariad, which also has offices in Switzerland.