U.S. FDA approves azacitidine for MDS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 19, 2004, approved the orphan drug azacitidine (trade name Vidaza, by Pharmion Corp.) for marketing as a treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a bone marrow disorder in which abnormal blood cells are produced. Azacitidine is the first drug approved for treatment of MDS. In clinical trials about 15% of people with MDS had a complete or partial normalization of their blood cell counts when treated with the drug.