Nilotinib

Overview
Nilotinib, in the form of the hydrochloride monohydrate salt, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved as Tasigna® in the USA and the EU for drug-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). In June 2006, a Phase I clinical trial found nilotinib, also known by its clinical code AMN107, has a relatively favorable safety profile and shows activity in cases of CML resistant to treatment with imatinib (Gleevec®), another tyrosine kinase inhibitor currently used as a first-line treatment. In that study 92% of patients (already resistant or unresponsive to Gleevec) achieved a normal white blood cell counts after 5 month of treatment.

The drug will carry a black box warning for possible heart complications.