Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of cancer affecting white blood cells, which results in overproduction of faulty cells. These cells take over the bone marrow leading to anaemia, infection, bruising and bleeding. ALL is a rare condition, usually affecting more children than adults. Lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) is similar to ALL, they differ in where they often occur in the body (lymph nodes and thymus gland in LBL, and blood and bone marrow in ALL), and they are both treated in the same way.
JZP-458 is an injection (which can be intramuscular or intravenous) that uses an enzyme called asparaginase, taken from a bacterium, to prevent cancer cells from growing and dividing. If licenced, JZP-458 would provide a treatment option for patients with ALL/LBL who are allergic to asparaginase taken from E. coli by using an alternative bacterium source.