The patient is then reinfused with his or her own bone marrow. The bone marrow of a cancer patient is likely to contain malignant cells. Pergamid treatment of bone marrow kills leukemic cells without destroying the marrow's capacity to generate new blood cells after it is returned to the patient. Page 2, T91-30, Pergamid More than 1,000 patients have received autologous bone marrow transplants treated with Pergamid. Clinical studies have shown that patients with acute myelogenous leukemia in second or later remission may have a better chance at survival than similar patients treated with conventional therapy without bone marrow transplantation.
Orphan status provides incentives for the development of products for rare disorders.